Kirsten Fargotstein is a veteran executive and personal assistant with over a decade of experience supporting celebrities, founders, and ultra-high-net-worth individuals across entertainment, nonprofits, luxury fashion, and tech.
In this episode of The Leader Assistant Podcast, Kirsten talks about the world of celebrity and UHNW assistance, how to know if you’re cut out for assisting in that world, and how to land a job as a celebrity assistant.
LEADERSHIP QUOTE
The servant-leader is servant first. It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead.
– Robert K. Greenleaf
CONNECT WITH KIRSTEN
ABOUT KIRSTEN
Kirsten Fargotstein is a veteran executive and personal assistant with over a decade of experience supporting celebrities, founders, and ultra-high-net-worth individuals across entertainment, nonprofits, luxury fashion, and tech. Known for her discretion, strategic thinking, and calm under pressure composure, she’s the right hand behind some of the most influential names in the industry.
She began her career in talent publicity before transitioning into executive support, where her client roster included the longtime manager of icons like Madonna and U2, Hollywood duo Leslie Mann and Judd Apatow, and Dhani Harrison—musician and son of the late Beatle, George Harrison.
From coordinating private charters and red carpet logistics to managing business operations and luxury travel, Kirsten has operated behind the scenes of red carpets, global press tours, and elite households.
She recently launched Kollective Consulting, a consultancy agency that equips aspiring and seasoned assistants with the tools, community support, and industry knowledge to succeed in celebrity and UHNW settings.
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EPISODE TRANSCRIPT
Kirsten Fargotstein 0:00
Hi, I’m Kirsten Fargostein, and today’s leadership quote comes from Robert Greenleaf. The quote is – the servant leader is servant first. It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first, then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. You.
Podcast Intro 0:23
The Leader Assistant Podcast exists to encourage and challenge assistants to become confident game changing leader assistants.
Jeremy Burrows 0:37
Hey friends, welcome to The Leader Assistant Podcast. It’s episode 347 and this is your host, Jeremy Burrows, and you can check out the show notes, of course, for this episode at leader assistant.com/347, and today I’m speaking with Kirsten Farge Stein. And Kirsten is a veteran executive and personal assistant with over a decade of experience supporting celebrities, founders and ultra high net worth individuals across the entertainment industry, nonprofits, luxury, fashion and tech. So Kirsten, thank you so much for being here. Tell us a little bit about yourself first, like what city you’re in and what you like to do when you’re not working, sure.
Kirsten Fargotstein 1:21
Thank you for the kind introduction. I am. I’m Kirsten. I am currently in Phoenix, Arizona, but I bounce between Los Angeles and a couple other places, depending on where clients are. And I am the founder of collective consulting, which is a boutique agency that basically helps train and mentor aspiring and seasoned assistants working in those fields.
Jeremy Burrows 1:48
Love it. And what do you like to do when you’re not working?
Kirsten Fargotstein 1:52
When I’m not working, I’m a bit of a homebody to be honest with you, because it is 24/7 but I would say I love to read a good book, do a little baking, maybe some gardening, if I can get it in, and then just spend time with family and friends. Love it. Love it.
Jeremy Burrows 2:08
Well, let’s we’re going to talk a lot about the industry you’re in and kind of supporting high net worth individuals and celebrity assistants and all that. But first, let’s just hear a little bit about your story. How did you end up getting into the assistant space. And, you know, tell us a little bit about your assistant journey as well.
Kirsten Fargotstein 2:26
Sure, yeah, well, I actually had quite a unique journey into it. My first real job in entertainment in LA specifically, was working for as an assistant, but for a senior talent publicist. So she worked with, like a list actors, mainly in in television and film format. And so that was kind of the crash course into the industry, if you will, absolutely loved it. Learned so much, but then decided after a few years that the, I guess you could say, the assistant publicist realm was not really my my calling, because it was just a bit of a monotonous routine. And I needed a little bit more challenge in my everyday life, where I was jumping from one thing to the next. So I transitioned from there, then into executive assistant work for a talent manager, actually in music and and film and entertainment, and then everything sort of spanned from there. I went from one talent to the next. I was gonna
Jeremy Burrows 3:28
say, it seems like that industry is very, very much all about who you know, right? Like, you
Kirsten Fargotstein 3:38
know what it isn’t. It isn’t I, actually, I’m the rare person who started out with zero contacts, so I didn’t know a single person when I first got out there. I had a couple of friends who had industry connections, but no one gave me really any help, because they were trying to make their own way. So I just sort of, you know, put my head down and was blind, you know, applying to a bunch of jobs. And then at one point, I decided, actually, let’s take a different route with this. Let’s be strategic, instead of just, you know, throwing spaghetti at the wall and seeing what sticks. And I ended up kind of researching, I guess you could say, the top kind of clients that I wanted to work with. So if I was going into publicity, what was, you know, who were the people I wanted to work with, that I could see myself really supporting their projects and getting the message out about, you know, what they’re working on, and things of that nature. And that’s, that’s when I then zeroed in on the person that I reached out to for my first job, and the timing just happened to line up where she was looking for an assistant, and I got an assistant position working for the president of a veteran talent publicity agency. Oh yeah, it’s pretty, pretty wild.
Jeremy Burrows 4:54
So what was the Any tips on if anybody else wants to do that research? And then even. Like, what was the it was, because it’s kind of a cold reach out, right? It was a cold email like, What did
Kirsten Fargotstein 5:06
you say? Well, I don’t even remember what I said at this point, but I’m sure it was something along the lines of, you know, hey, I, you know, I’ve looked into your client roster, and you’re the kind of publicist that I would love to work with or for, eventually, and learn, you know, get guidance and mentorship from you as I work my way up in in that career role. And the research was really just me kind of thinking about, well, who seems like a fun person to work with, who seems like they’re working on projects that are of the caliber I want to work with, because I have a very kind of classist view when it comes to entertainment. I guess you could say I wanted to work with the best of the best and the top, you know, top, top, creme de la creme folks. So I was really picky about, you know, the types of folks I wanted to align myself with once I did get my start in entertainment, and I think it’s just looking at it from a long run in that perspective, that it really helps, because people can see you’re serious about the work, and you’re not looking for the perks of the jobs necessarily, right? Yeah, totally. Which is key, very key in that world, because it is a lot of work behind the scenes that people just don’t realize. Yeah, yeah.
Jeremy Burrows 6:21
So, okay, so then, as you got into the this, this work and this industry, what did you and maybe even how your current setup is too, like, did you move from, you know, principal to principal, or did you add, you know, like, hey, you know I’m working with this person, but maybe they don’t need me as much, so I’m going to do part time here, and then I’m gonna get another one to do this stuff for them there. And, like, how does that all come about?
Kirsten Fargotstein 6:51
Sure, yeah, I mean, to be honest, when I was first starting out, it was really just trying to find the right fit. So I was looking for one person to stick with. I didn’t really want to jump because it was so hard to get, you know, a full time job already, as it was in the industry. Now, it’s completely changed as well. But yeah, I would say the main thing starting out was really just zeroing in on again. Who do I want to work with now, if I’m moving into that assistant specific role of not just working behind the desk, but also helping them out in the field a little bit more, or handling more of their personal life, you know, in addition to their business projects. So I ended up going and working with, as I said before, a talent agent, he worked with people like Madonna and YouTube. So it was like the top of the music side coming from the film and TV side, and but he was also very tapped into all of those people. And then from there, I ended up actually not staying with him long term, because I decided that I was a little burnt out at the time with the industry, having worked there for three or four years and just driving myself into the grindstone. So I actually went home to Arizona for a brief bit, and I was like, I’m going to try my hand at maybe being an assistant for nonprofit. Take a breather from entertainment for a minute. And I did that. I ended up going and working for the two co founders of this national nonprofit, which was a beautiful experience and very rewarding, and they actually had entertainment ties. Still, one of them dated Elvis back in the day, so they were on the older side of things, but, but still had very significant ties. They were actresses way back in the day. So yeah, so it was ironic that the entertainment thread was still there through everything. And then I then I was like, I’m not done though, yet with LA. So I ended up going back to Los Angeles about a year later, and that’s when I worked for talent. More specifically, started working for talent. So Judd Apatow and Leslie Mann were very popular, director, producer, actress, wife, duo and their family worked with them for a while, and then ended up landing longer term with an amazing person, Danny Harrison, who is the son of the late George Harrison of The Beatles, and he was an incredible boss. I mean, I can’t say enough good things about him. I’m still very close with him, even to this day, too. But it was just awesome. I mean, got to be a part of the projects that you know, he wasn’t tied into, and we worked briefly with Peter Jackson’s team on some stuff. So it was just fun, because I got to do a little bit more than just kind of the administrative, you know, personal assistant type stuff. It was more mix of 5050, both. So yeah, and then, then from there was just sort of a couple other small gigs after that, because the pan. Pandemic relocated them at one point. So I was like, I could continue working with them, or I could try to find something that’s again, back to that full time. Because at that point, as you asked, that’s when things kind of were like, do I add another person, or do I go back into more full time? And I was like, I’m going to continue to do some full time work a little bit longer. And and then finally, I was like, I think I’m gonna start my own thing. I think I’m getting tired of working for these other people. 24/7, right, right. So, yeah. So it’s been, it’s been a very wide ranging career and very robust career, but each thing has been so, so rewarding and so like life, life lesson learning. You know what I mean? Every single role is completely different. Wow, very interesting.
Jeremy Burrows 10:47
Yeah. Well, I want to hear a little bit about collective consulting, but first, is there any you know, I know working in that industry? There’s obviously a lot of confidential stuff, and a lot of you know NDAs and and, you know, there’s, there’s, you got to be sensitive to all that, otherwise you won’t get another job in that industry. Or, you know what I mean. But is there any, like, fun, crazy stories, I’m sure you, you saw a lot and dealt with a lot of interesting situations. But is there anything that you can say or can share that you’d be willing to share, that would be kind of a fun, fun story during that time.
Kirsten Fargotstein 11:26
I mean, I have a few, you know, a lot of them are usually when I’m on the road. I feel like, you know, it’s usually when you’re traveling, when everything goes crazy and you’re sort of like, everything’s up in the air, and you just have to figure it out on your on your feet, but, um, I remember the first time I met Danny’s mother, which is George’s widow, Olivia Harrison, absolutely amazing woman. Um, we were traveling all together, and Danny and his partner were then splitting off at one point, and they were going to go on another part of a trip. And so I was supposed to travel back with Mrs. Harrison, Olivia, and we almost missed the flight back, and we were running through the airport, and it was my first time meeting her, too. So I was, like, very nervous, because, oh my gosh, she’s going to think I’m totally inept. I can’t even get her to the plane on time, and it but it wasn’t even my fault. We had stopped to kind of like window shop, you know what I mean, and we just lost track of the time and and so we ended up going. We got on the the tram leading us from one part of Air Force the next, and she turns and she looks at me, and I’ll never forget she goes, if it doesn’t work and we can’t catch this plane, we’ll just hop something to Portugal or something like that. We’ll go have a weekend for ourselves. And I was like, Oh, wow. I was like, she’s awesome. I was like, this is a great lady. Like, you know, everybody was saying, like, oh, you know, make sure you’re really minding your peace and cues and, you know, you want to make sure you’re on time and everything. And she was just like, I will go with the flow. But she’s used to it too, because she was an assistant herself, I think, back in the day. So it was very, yeah, it was, it was a lot of fun to kind of get that glimpse into, you know, somebody that’s been in that industry too, and as a part of, literally, music royalty, to just be so down to earth and so relaxed, you know, she was, she was great, and that family was great. But yeah, we’ve, we’ve had some fun scares, even during the pandemic, with them too, they were traveling, and it was literally they were in the air while countries were being closed down. So we were trying to, like, charter helicopters and make sure we could get them across borders before the countries were like, and, you know, you can’t, you got to go back because, you know, you’re not allowed at this point, with the pandemic shutting everything down. So we’ve, we’ve had some interesting, interesting journeys, that’s for sure. But all fun, very fun. Yeah.
Jeremy Burrows 13:52
What’s the So currently, then, do you still support any, any principles, or are you primarily doing the agency where you coach,
Kirsten Fargotstein 14:05
yeah, both. So I’m actually, I’m in the process right now of working freelance for some of those previous clients as well as new clients. But then I also have the consulting agency, so it’s kind of a 5050, I would say half of my time is spent, you know, working with aspiring or even seasoned assistants, or potentially clients that are looking to hire someone, but they’re not really sure how to approach it, and they’re tired of going through staffing agencies. I don’t staff, but you know, if they want, if they want help in trying to determine what’s the best way to approach a solid, long term assistant. You know, I help them with that, and then the other side of it is working almost more on a project basis for different clients when they need me. So if someone needs me for the holidays, I’ll fly in and help, or if they’re working on a big home. Innovation, you know, I’ll go out and help with that. If a work project or tour is coming up and they need extra assistance, I’ll go and assist there.
Jeremy Burrows 15:07
Okay, cool. So you kind of have your home base, and then you just can, on a project by project basis, travel and be on site for someone. And, you know, it’s
Kirsten Fargotstein 15:17
almost like a fractional assistant in a way. I mean, it’s not, but it is kind of so it’s, it’s, it’s kind of new territory, actually, which I think is funny, because I think a lot of people would actually prefer that. I noticed a lot of the security personnel do that a lot of security, if they’re not full time, yeah, they’ll, they’ll come in and they’ll help on specific projects. And I thought, I used to think, Oh, that’d be so nice, because then you don’t have to, you know, early on in my days, I was like, then I won’t have to deal with the politics of things and the teams and all of those different elements that can really drag you down over time. But I never thought it would be something I would be doing. And here I am. So it’s kind of nice.
Jeremy Burrows 15:59
Yeah, that’s awesome. So have you had situations where, like, one client says, hey, I want you in July to spend three weeks with us here, and then the other client calls and they’re like, hey, I want you in July to spend this like, have you had conflicting rehab like shoes or get a bidding war going or what? Yeah,
Kirsten Fargotstein 16:19
you know what? Most of my clients are pretty good for the most part. They don’t really require me, like at the same time, and if they do, they understand that I’m working with other people too, just because it is more project based and it’s not full time anymore, and I’ve built up the reputation with a lot of these people, so they know what my work style is like, and they know that they can depend on me, regardless of where I am. But I think that that’s also key for a lot of assistants to know, you know, it’s like you don’t have to be so wrapped up in one way of doing things. You can absolutely adapt. And most of the time, if you’ve built the rapport with a client, they are very understanding. You know, some clients to be much more demanding. It just depends. But no, usually award season gets busy because you you know, you’ve got a lot of people wanting bland scheduling and things of that nature, which can be very tech. You know, Tetris made style, but, um, but for the most part, clients are pretty good, nice.
Jeremy Burrows 17:21
Yeah, that’s awesome. Well, super interesting. You know, I’ve been, I was in the nonprofit world for 12 years or so, and then I now have been in the software tech AI space for nine years. And so it’s always fun to hear, because I do, I do personal assistant stuff as well. I’ve always supported this. Well, most of my 19 years as an assistant, I’ve supported the C suite, CEO, yes, so founder, CEO type, I’ve, I’ve done executive assistant on the corporate side, but also personal assistant stuff. So I’ve had a little bit of that, you know, those, those personal kids or or travel, or whatever, house manager, stuff, Nanny stuff, you know, all the all, everything in between. Had that experience. And, you know, my current executive has four kids under the age of 13, and sold his last company for almost a billion dollars. And one, you know, like the most down to earth, like you would not think you met him. You just think, Oh, he’s an engineer, like, somewhat nerdy, super family oriented dude, and you doesn’t seem like one of those tech successful tech exit people from Silicon Valley, which part of that is because he’s from St Louis, Missouri in the Midwest. Yeah, totally different West style, but, but anyway, what? So I’ve always been fascinated on the celebrity side, just because I have done a lot of that personal assistant stuff too, and I can relate to and I’ve had different celebrity assistants on the on the podcast over the years. But what would you say is just, just give us a glimpse inside that world. How is it different than the corporate assistant world, and then maybe even what you’ve seen maybe has changed since you started in this industry. And then we can get into like, if somebody’s listening is interested in getting in that world, how can they land a job? But I’m just curious give us a little bit of inside scoop on what it’s like to be a celebrity or high net worth assistant.
Kirsten Fargotstein 19:40
Sure. Well, I think it’s actually kind of funny, because a lot of people think that the celebrity stuff is super different from the corporate and I have to say, I actually don’t think it’s necessarily one area that’s different. It’s it’s truly individual. So. So, you know, one celebrity could be very much operating like a corporate C suite person, because their team around them has that set up and is is really built structured in that way. But I would say the biggest, if you were to really break it down, the biggest differences between celebrity and more of the corporate or ultra high net worth, even individuals that are business fear focused the celebrity side, you have to remember, you’re working truly with talent, like creative talent, and so their clock and their mental like structure is nowhere near even what a visionary or a founder, you know, billionaire entrepreneur, would be like, they’re not thinking about it from more of like a rational, business minded standpoint. They’re thinking of things more artistically. And so when you’re speaking to them, it’s a different kind of approach. You’re definitely kind of catering to more of an emotional, emotionally reactive or responsive person, typically. So you have to sort of read the room in a different way. And in any of those roles, it’s about learning how to anticipate what your principal or your client is going to be needing over time. So yeah, celebrity, I would say it’s just it’s a little bit more emotionally reactive, typically, because if you’re working with an actor, an actress, musician, it’s much more creative. If you’re working with someone who’s ultra high net worth, who comes from more of the business side of things, they’re going to be a bit more structured. Still going to be kind of, you know, crazy ideas, and want to figure out how to make the impossible work. But it is a different it’s a different way of approaching them. You’re not approaching them from like a let’s just check off this list and get through it. And you’re kind of like, okay, well, this is the mood we’re in now. So we’re going to, you know, tick off these four or five things, and then we’re going to give it a beat, and then we’re going to come back. Going to come back to it in another couple hours after they’ve had a nap, or, you know, they’re not going to wake up till one in the afternoon. And so then that’s when we need to get them their most, their most productive, you know? So it’s just a different different schedules, different mindset, is what I would say, on Celebrity side, versus ultra high net worth, business type people. And even then the business type people, it really depends on the team. You know, if the team is structured and built well, whether it’s celebrity or ultra high net worth, like C suite, then you’re able to accomplish a lot more because they’re more compartmentalized. But if the team is sort of loosey goosey and free flow, like the client or the principal, it’s it takes a lot more finesse. I don’t know if that answers your question. Yeah,
Jeremy Burrows 22:51
that makes sense. That makes a lot of sense. So do you is there certain entertainment industry is kind of a broad bucket, but is there a certain industry within the entertainment industry, or a certain, you know, category under the celebrity bucket that you enjoy working in more?
Kirsten Fargotstein 23:14
I always enjoy working on the film and TV side because it’s it’s creative, but it’s more structured than the music side. Music is truly very loose, like, unless you’re on tour, you are sort of just like at the whim of what the emotional state is in order to record an album, or whatever the the commitments are outside of album, you know, making and touring. And by the way, that’s not to say almost everybody I’ve worked with. I actually learned this early on in my first job at the talent PR agency, one of our clients, he was an actor, very, very well known actor, but he was also starting a side business with home renovations and like, doing a lot of home stuff. And he started a business on the side, doing that with one of his business you know, one of his best friends became a business partner. A lot of people are very much like that. So even though they’re very creative, some people are also very business minded. But they sort of go in separate directions when they’re doing that, you know, they have to turn turn off one brain in order to tap into the other so it just depends. But I do think that TV and film has a bit more structure, because there are so many people that are involved in production on a daily basis that you really can’t afford to be behind schedule. You know upwards of an hour, like, shouldn’t be behind schedule at all, but you really shouldn’t be behind schedule or not around to commit to something because so many other people are relying on you. So I like those fields. They’re also more community, like, collective driven in a way, you’re working collaboratively with a big group of people, which I find so much fun.
Jeremy Burrows 25:00
Hmm, yeah, I guess because, like, a film project, there’s so many more people involved than an album, right? Like
Kirsten Fargotstein 25:07
there? Well, yeah, there’s a lot of people involved with the album, but it’s that’s truly reliant on, like, one person coming to the table and performing, versus an ensemble cast, in a pro, in a in a production, you know, and you have a lot more people who are responsible for things at a higher level in production than on an album, too, you know, because, again, it’s much more personal in a way. Yeah, so
Jeremy Burrows 25:32
nice. So, okay, so if somebody listening is like, I really want, I’ve always wanted to get into the entertainment industry. I’ve always wanted to get into more of the, you know, out of the corporate environment and more into personal assistant, celebrity assistant, ultra high net worth, individual assistant, you know, what? What would you recommend? How should they maybe two parts of the question. One, how to land a job as a celebrity assistant, and two, how to know if you’re cut out for that type of job in that industry. You know, does that make sense? Yeah,
Kirsten Fargotstein 26:12
it does. I actually talk about this a lot with a lot of aspiring assistants. Let’s start with the How to know if you’re cut out for it. I think that’s the most important. I would say that you have to have that passion, like if you don’t have the true, genuine love for whatever the craft is that that person is working in, it’s not going to be a long standing job for you, because you almost have to love it more than the person you’re, you’re assisting in a way, because you are, you are, in a way, becoming an extension of them when you are assisting them. So you know you you’re walking a mile in their shoes, and you’re anticipating what they’re going to need and how they’re going to think what questions they’re going to ask. There’s, there’s actually a movie that came out fairly recently that I thought just about nailed it on the head. It’s that Dakota Johnson movie, the higher note with Diana Ross’s daughter. I can’t remember her name, Tracy Ellis Ross, I think is her name, but almost perfectly nailed it. I mean, to the culture of assistance and everything for celebrities, is it called the high note? The high note, that’s what it is. I
Jeremy Burrows 27:22
just looked it up. I’ll link to that in the show notes
Kirsten Fargotstein 27:24
for sure. Yeah, it’s, I mean, it’s a cute movie. It’s not entirely accurate. There’s definitely some liberties they took with you know how much sway the assistant has in that world. But there are quite a few things that are pretty spot on in there, even all the way down to the hiking and gossiping about your your client to your friends that are also assistants, you know, yeah, but, um, but I would say that that’s like a perfect example of understanding sort of, you know, if you have that passion for what the person is working in, you’re most likely to continue on and not just be an assistant, but grow within that field with that person. So a lot of assistants end up becoming kind of like strategic partners, in a way, because they become the trusted right hand to these people. So the first thing is, definitely have the passion for the industry. And not, you know, don’t think about it as what perks can I get? Can I be famous off of this? And that’s not what it’s about even remotely most of the time. A list, celebrities are not going to want you in their circle. If you’re focused on the perks and all of the Bennies that you’re going to get, you know they want to know you’re working there for them and for that reason. But that’s one piece. Another piece is, yes, some clients, you absolutely probably most clients, you’d have to have a rather tough skin, you know, be able to deal with constructive criticism and then just truly be an empath. I mean, I think the emotional intelligence of assistance is kind of the unspoken hero that a lot of people don’t talk about as much. You have to be able to read the room and understand what your client is feeling or kind of mentally going through so that you can accomplish your job. So those are some key things I would say that are absolutes. You have to be emotionally intelligent, you have to have kind of a thick skin, and then you have to have a strong passion and hard work ethic without having the fairy tale in your head as far as how to land the job. It depends. Now is actually a time where I think that you don’t have to be in an entertainment hub anymore in order to land the job. So, you know, used to be you had to go to LA, New York, maybe Atlanta or Nashville. Those are like your key hubs, sort of within the United States, outside of the United States, London, Paris, Toronto. Those were, like, kind of the key areas. But now, I mean, there’s so much stuff that’s changing. You’ve got pubs that are opening up in New Jersey again. And, you know, you have hubs opening up in Las Vegas. US and up north, and like Montana, you know, all these productions are going there, and there’s just so many changing things. So you can really get the job from anywhere. You can even do it remotely. It’s harder to do it remotely if you haven’t built up a reputation already, but if you have as a seasoned person, you could absolutely get remote work. And then as far as the rest of it is concerned, you know, I used to always operate off of look at the traits of the industry that you’re wanting to go into. So in entertainment, for example, that would be like a variety a Hollywood Reporter, a deadline, you know, an indie, indie wire, any of those kinds of publications. That’s where you’re going to see who are the people that are rising up in the ranks that might need an assistant in the future, that are not at that level yet, but might be going into it. That’s where you’re also going to be able to start organically and authentically networking with people, and not just coming out the gate asking for a job, but like, start talking to people about the industry that they’re in, even if it’s in tech, you know, Tech Crunch, you know, all of those different types of of publications. It’s, it’s a gold mine of understanding where jobs are going to be popping up in the future, and then hitting job sites like entertainment careers. That’s how I landed my first job in the industry. That wasn’t, yeah, it wasn’t the public publicity company, but it was the very first job I had. And, you know, other places like that, there are staffing agencies that can help you land a job, but a lot of them won’t look at you if you don’t have previous experience. And
Jeremy Burrows 31:40
when you say it’s also difficult, sorry to interrupt, but when you say previous experience, do you mean previous, like celebrity, ultra high experience, not just like corporate assistant experience,
Kirsten Fargotstein 31:52
right? Yes, yeah, because they’re going to want to see that you know how to handle yourself with those types of personalities and that you can be that’s almost more about the personality, presentation and the emotional intelligence than it is about the skills of knowing how to book travel, knowing how to schedule a calendar, things of that nature. And the same thing goes to with ultra high net worth that is similar in that way as well. So, but yeah, the staffing agencies are helpful, but know what you’re getting into if you do go down that route, because it doesn’t always give you longevity. It could be more of a revolving door syndrome, if you’re not careful.
Jeremy Burrows 32:28
So like as in, there’s a lot of contract jobs that
Kirsten Fargotstein 32:32
not even contract jobs. You know what? The reason I actually started my agency initially was because I saw some agencies that were they were matching people that were not equipped for the clients they were being matched to, and vice versa, the clients were not a good fit for the candidates they were putting in front of them that they were wanting to hire. So that’s kind of what I mean by revolving door. It could be something that you land the job, it’s not contract, but it’s not going to be a good fit in the long term, and you’re going to be out the door in four months or three months when the when the agency contract, staffing agency contract ends, and the client doesn’t have to pay again for another search, you know? So, yeah, no. Okay,
Jeremy Burrows 33:18
cool. Well, this is super, super helpful when you do your training, so now that people have a little bit of tips on, you know, am I cut out for it, and how do I land a job? But what are the skill gaps you’ve mentioned, emotional intelligence and this kind of soft skills. But what specifically do you teach or train assistants who are trying to get into this world or who are trying to level up in this world?
Kirsten Fargotstein 33:47
Well, it sort of spans a little bit of everything. So I give them a basic knowledge of what the industry looks like and what the landscape looks like, because that’s the first thing you’re you’re stepping into a world that is so vast, it’s like a spider network. And like so many different offshoots of things, you know, giant web of connections, and how people are interconnected. And, you know, what is the role that an agent, a public assistant manager, all play? And how does that tie into the assistant? You know, then you get to the personal side. How does the house manager, the estate manager, security? There’s so many different pieces to that puzzle. So I teach them first, a little bit like ground based knowledge of the industry and how it all pans out in relation to an assistant, whether it’s personal or executive, and then whether that’s celebrity or ultra high net worth, because they are slightly different. And then I kind of go from there into the personality elements that you would need to have. So being highly organized, you know, being emotionally intelligent, understanding how to be proactive, you know, and that that’s, you know, attention to detail is key. All of those things are what make a great general assistant. Then you go in. To that more nuanced layers of, you know, okay, now, how do you book private charter, not just commercial flights, and how do you handle ground transportation, and have a backup plan and work with security to make sure that things are advanced? House Manager? How are things advanced? Um, you know, if the manager needs something, what’s the protocol? So it’s, it’s kind of stepping you through all of those different scenarios, if you will, and just prepping them so that they know what they’re going into. I also think that there’s going to be in the future, I’m hoping to launch maybe a YouTube like series that sort of breaks down lingo for assistance and how that all pans out, because a lot of you know communication in those roles is a very unique way of speaking. So that’s something I’m also looking to add into kind of my coaching regimen as well a bit more, but, but, yeah, it’s, it’s just sort of those layers, giving people those layers, and so they understand what they’re walking into, and they don’t panic as soon as they get in front of someone who they’ve seen on TV or on a concert stage, or one of the wealthiest men in the world. And you’re like, What do I do, you know, how do I book a yacht? How do I you know, how do I arrange all of these, you know, what’s the Closet Organization scenario look like? Or, you know, how do I set up a phone, or with the publicist for press junket? All of these different things.
Jeremy Burrows 36:31
Yeah, that’s interesting. The I’ve always thought about that of like, Oh, I’m sure I could do, I could do some celebrity assisting. That’d be kind of a fun world to work in. But then I’m always like, I get down to the details of the practical side of like, well, I’ve never booked a charter plane, and it’s not hard. It really isn’t hard. Yeah, I mean, it’s just, it’s just, it’s new, yeah, it’s different and new. Yeah,
Kirsten Fargotstein 36:57
it’s that. And also, too, it’s once you know who to go to. You’re set. You know, you once you have your network of people, you’re set, because everything then runs smooth, you know, smooth butter. But until then, it’s kind of like you’re sort of just a fish in water trying or fish out of water, trying to figure out, Where do I even go for this contact, for this restaurant reservation, or, you know, how do I get a hold of a VIP luxury brand person? Because I need this purse in a matter of hours before they take off on this flight. You know? So it’s just, it’s, it’s growing your network through that experience, but it’s also learning how to think quick on your feet, and if you’re more prepared up front for what those scenarios could look like. I think you’re gonna have assistants who do better in the long run with the clients, and you’re gonna have clients who aren’t so crazy because they don’t have a new person, like a new face in front of them every three to four months, you know, right, right? Which also helps their team, their bigger team, because they’re not panicked. They don’t know who this random stranger is in their in their personal space, all of a sudden, you know?
Jeremy Burrows 38:05
Yeah, I can, I can imagine that’s a big red flag when you’re looking for a job with these, these, this industry, and this a high net worth people, and all is if they have a high turnover on their assistant.
Kirsten Fargotstein 38:19
Yeah, I worked with someone. I actually saw someone speak about this on LinkedIn, and he was someone who said he worked for somebody that was real difficult and had like 13 assistants in 12 months or something. And I’ve worked in a similar capacity. I’ve worked for someone who had like four or five assistants in three months, and they just people were not sticking. And then I was like, the next longest standing assistant that they had had. And I remember when I came out of that role for myself, the staffing agency that had placed me there, and other staffing agencies that had heard that I was going to be looking at the time I was using a staffing agency, they were like, if you can work for that person, you can work for anybody. Like they had earned a reputation within the staffing agency world of being notoriously difficult, and so, you know, you don’t want to work for those people. I My heart goes out to those clients, because I always think, oh, that poor person is just in so much turmoil that they cannot get an assistant to stick, but at the same time, you know, there’s definitely some red flags there that you want to avoid. Totally
Jeremy Burrows 39:29
awesome. Well, Kirsten, thank you so much for being on the show. This has been a great conversation. Lots of Thank you. You’ve had a great career and interesting, you know, industries, and so appreciate you sharing a little bit of that, little bit of that journey. Where is the best place for people to reach out if they want to connect and say hi and maybe learn more about collective consulting?
Kirsten Fargotstein 39:51
Sure, so I have a couple things my website. You can go to www.kollectiveconsulting.com, it’s still kind of get. Brain built up a little bit more. It’s going through a rebrand a bit, but you can definitely reach out to me there. And then I also offer a free weekly newsletter called the inner circle. And every week, just about sometimes I change it up a little bit, but usually it’s giving you an entertainment brief. So like the top three to five stories in entertainment for that that week, with assistant takeaways, like why it’s relevant to assistance, an ultra high net worth brief is also in there. And then an assistant Bible, where I usually will have an interview with either an assistant that’s working in the field to give real life advice and tips, or I will interview and spotlight a vetted partner that people might want to work with in the future, whether that’s yacht brokerage companies, security detail companies, things of that nature. So if you want to get more info and aren’t quite ready for training or to take that next step, that’s a great resource to check
Jeremy Burrows 40:58
out. Love it. Love it. I’ll put all of those links in the show notes at leaderassistant.com/347, thanks again. Kirsten, thank you so much for your time and letting us explore a little bit inside the world of celebrity and ultra high net worth. Support and yeah, it’s been fun connecting, and we look forward to talking again soon.
Kirsten Fargotstein 41:22
Thank you so much. Jeremy, appreciate it. Thanks for having me on.
