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Andria Schultz is living the LA dream. From working on Hollywood projects to interviewing shakers and movers within the industry.
She has also worked with big brands like Disney, Warner Bros and has been an Executive Producer for shows like “Your Family Matters” along with working behind the scenes for Fox News and the Disney Channel, she has accomplished a lot at a young age.
How Did You Get Started ?
At the age of 8, Andria had this grand vision of being the CEO of Disney, from a young age she was a go- getter and an entrepreneur from the start. Her 1st business was going door to door handing out pamphlets teaching typing for kids, this is how she structured her pitch in the brochure
“If you’re looking to get rid of your kids from 3-6 pm, then sign them up for my typing class”, she also included a signup sheet and was charging $20.
At the age of 10 years old, she went to church with her mom and her mom noticed Constance Ramos for the Extreme Makeover Home Edition and told her to go talk to her. Andria went and got her autograph and bluntly asked,
” I want to be the next CEO of Disney, can you help me get there ?”
She got denied and told Andria to come back a few years later when she was serious.
By the time she was 13-14 years old, she want back to Ramos and asked her again; this time she accepted and taught her the value of having “elephant skin” and prepred her entry into the entertainment industry. Ramos gave her homework and prepared a plan of attack to make her dream happen.
At the age of 16, Andria scoured 50-100 newspapers looking for internships and came across a production company but they wanted someone with Photoshop experience.
That didn’t deter her from cold calling and even though she didn’t have Photoshop experience, she set up a meeting with the decision maker and brought her dad along. She brought along her artwork from high school and showed it to the person.
However, the decision maker insisted Andria get Photoshop experience so she went to a community college for 6 months to learn Photoshop and landed the internship. While taking an extended program from TV and Film she landed a gig working behind the scenes at FOX TV. She got a chance to meet the VP of Fox News and realized they had a mutual connection which was the decision maker that hired her at 16.
All the names mentioned in the article in some way mentored Andria to the success she has achieved till today.
At 21, she landed the position of Executive Producer for Your Family Matters while still taking a full course load, getting straight A’s and working 75 hour work weeks while driving back and forth from San Diego to LA. She was managing a team of 12.
What did the VP of Fox News teach you ?
Andria learned how to to add structure for television scripts, to be patient and developed business acumen.
After networking her way, she connected with Tom Bergeron and still wanted to be the CEO of Disney. So she went to sell cars for Mercedez Benz to develop that skill and also landed a gig at “Real Daytime” at Warner Bros. So she was selling cars Monday- Friday and during the weekend, she drove up to Warner Bros. to work there.
She met Tom Bergeron through American’s Funniest Home videos in which she got invited to sit in the audience and be on camera. She was approached to play a game with him before the show by the producer, however due to some confusion another girl was selected.
After the show, the producer was deeply apologetic and invited Andria to another audience taping in which she could play the game with Bergeron. She refused and wanted a job instead and ended up landing the job through an email.
She landed a lot of opportunities but wasn’t fulfilled. She was getting a lot of queries on how she landed gigs and networked so after consulting with her loved ones, she realized her purpose was to help people, especially millennials make their break into the entertainment industry through her program “Network Smart”
Tell us about a moment that you’re proud of.
Making an impact to the education system in California. Andria was at a board meeting with executives from Lego Land, district leaders from different schools and Oprah’s partner: Stedman Graham. Andria suggested an idea about making a specific change and Graham was impressed to the extent that he implemented the change in the system.
What was the reason behind starting a course ?
Even though she was getting a lot of queries how she landed opportunities, she wanted her students to understand the concept to not be a mercy to the strings of Hollywood, because living in Hollywood is expensive.
She wanted her students to think like entrepreneurs and go after opportunities and not wait for a call from agents or producers to hire them for a job.
What was a rock bottom moment for you ?
Andria lost her job at Disney Channel due to undisclosed reasons and never till this day understood the reason. She was devastated and was emotionally torn that her dream directly could not be achieved. However, she indirectly is living her dream through the successes of her students that are working with Paramount and other Disney related brands.
When Andria was in middle school for 3 years straight she was bullied through water balloons being thrown or girls pulling her hair in class, however she powered through all that
How do you not let the critics get to you ?
“You’re always going to have ups and downs, you could let the downs bring you down or let them bring you up”- Carlos Hernandez
Andria said, ” Don’t worry about what other people think about you, the only person who’s opinion matters about yourself is yours at the end of the day. If you’re insecure and others sense it, they’ll exploit it. If you’re secure with yourself, no one’s opinion will break you”
What’s next for you or what projects are you currently working on ?
Andria is currently doing a podcast with the producer of Boy Meets World, managing an EDM duo who got signed and has plans of writing a book detailing her journey in Hollywood. Other than her course “Network Smart” she also does 1 on 1 consulting across a wide variety of industries with individuals to help them navigate their career and advise them in different areas of personal and business.
Where can people find you ?
Through her Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/AndriaCSchultz/ or email at [email protected]
*Note: Thank you for the time Andria. Continue inspiring and impacting people in a positive way !*
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