Meet Kendra, My New Assistant!

For more than two decades, I've prided myself on living the DIY (do it yourself) ethic that I preach. Years ago I made a decision to create and run a business that I could operate by myself, working from home without a staff, office space or much overhead.

I feel very blessed that I attained that goal.

Over the past few years, as my publishing and teaching efforts have grown, my girlfriend (and very significant other) Pooki has taken on a few responsibilities. But the bulk of the workload still fell on my shoulders (plus, she has her own interests that I encourage her to pursue).

All of this led to my current situation:

• Working a LOT of hours on all aspects of the business
  
• Feeling like I'd hit a ceiling on the impact I can have and the number of people I can reach as a one-man show

So in recent months I began entertaining the idea of getting help ... which led to a perfect solution and the ideal person to step into a new role in my life.

Meet Kendra Wright!

I asked Kendra to write her own introduction, and she came up with this clever Q and A. I hope you take a moment to read it and welcome her to this new adventure!


How did you meet Bob?

I have to say I'm pretty resourceful when it comes to finding ways to meet people. I'm a networking master. If I want to connect with someone, I'll make it my personal mission to find a way in.

I was reading Bob's blog and Twitter feed for a while before I realized we lived in the same city. In the summer of 2009 I found out Bob was giving a workshop for aspiring authors at an expo in St. Louis. I showed up determined to meet him.

I remember Bob asking how everyone found out about the speaking engagement, and I told him I had been online stalking him for a while. We laughed about it, and the rest is history.

Nearly two years and a few projects later, now I'm his right-hand gal.

What projects are you looking forward to working on with Bob?

Helping him get some downtime! Seriously! If you knew the massive amount of projects Bob has in the works on a daily basis, your head would explode. I have to take notes just to keep up with him.

He works hard, and he works a lot. He loves it, but he also needs some time to chill and recharge his batteries. So I'm looking forward to helping lighten the load for him. I'll know I'm doing my job well when he finally takes a day off.

Who are you? How did you get into the music world?

I’ve been working with the local St. Louis music scene for about six years now. I have a Bachelors in Media Studies from the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

I’ve done everything from artist management, image consulting, production work and PR to branding, merchandise and driving rock stars around the city. (Ask me about the time I got lost in East Saint Louis with the Reverend Horton Heat in my car.)

In my free time I enjoy reading, finding new adventurous things I haven't done (I just gave skydiving a go), hanging out with my pooch, traveling, and volunteer work. I'm addicted to anything with sugar, anything Apple, and only wear slip-on shoes.

I'm also the most organized person on the face of the earth, which is why Bob and I make a great team; his world can be pretty chaotic!

A few pet peeves: Cold weather, arrogance, awkward silence, and books with bent front covers.

Favorite guilty pleasure: My apple products and organization.

Song you could listen to on repeat forever: "4am" by Our Lady Peace.

How can you help me, Kendra?

Bob is a busy guy! Really, "busy" is stating it lightly. Even though he tries to answer every email personally, he just can't always get around to it.

If you have a truly important message, and you don't want it to get lost in the shuffle of Bob's crazy world, feel free to shoot me an email at Kendra AT bob-baker.com. If it makes it to my inbox, there's a much better chance it'll actually get on Bob's radar.