Episode 202: Women in Business with Kaye Adams
A well-known and seasoned media personality, Kaye Adams gained fame in being a part of the ITV talk show, Loose Women and The Circle. Kaye has also been part of various TV shows with BBC. She has a book called STILL HOT! which features 42 true menopause stories. Kaye is also a BBC Scotland Radio Talk Show host named after her, The Kaye Adams Show.
In this episode, Adam Stott and Kaye Adams talk about how she first started working in the media to writing books of her own. Kaye also talked about women in business and her inspiring passion for helping women undergoing menopause. Listen to learn more!
Show Highlights:
- How Kaye Adams started working in the media profession
- What is the secret of the longevity of the show Loose Women
- Why producing a radio show is a much harder work for Kaye Adams
- Talking about her fears and how Kaye overcome them
- The role of her family, Kaye Adams’ mother and father, in achieving her success
- What is the measure of success for Kaye Adams
- Why a lot of media and entertainment personalities are unhappy despite their fame and money
Links Mentioned:
Big Business Events Members Network
Find out more about Loose Women and the Kaye Adams Show
Get Kaye Adams’ book on Amazon
Transcript:
Please note this is a verbatim transcription from the original audio and therefore may include some minor grammatical errors.
Adam Stott:
Hello everybody and welcome to the business growth secrets which I’m delighted to welcome media personality Kaye Adams, who of course is very well known from her superb show, Loose Women, where she’s been doing for over 20 years. So 20 years in the media and that shows some phenomenal stuff and I’m really excited actually tonight, of course, Kaye, featuring multiple other things is a media personality tonight, we’re going to be talking about her radio show, we’re going to be talking about Loose Women, we’re going to be talking about women in business, we’re going to be talking about different stages of women in business. So, what is that journey like we can also talk about some of the core experiences Kaye’s had across her many years in media which is going to be absolutely awesome. So, welcome Kaye. Thank you for joining me tonight.
Kaye Adams:
Hi, I’m doing really well. Listen, thanks for that grouping builds up the music and everything, I almost forgot it was a Monday night eight o’clock. I just 01:57 did the kids tea and I’m looking at absolute riot, you’re very naughty not telling me that this was going to be filmed. So, can I apologize to everyone?
Adam Stott:
I mentioned it. Thank you ever so much for coming on. I’m really looking forward to, you know, chatting tonight. And of course, as we’ve talked about the audience, we’ve got business owners, we’ve got people starting businesses that are working in, you know, multiple different industries and I’m sure, so many of the people on tonight we’re going to recognize you from a TV, and I’ve heard, you know, seeing lots of in the past so tonight I wanted to get to know what’s that like I mean first question if you don’t mind, I’ll kick off with his, you know, what’s he like being on TV for 20 years? Have you learned to handle that and deal with that? You know..
Kaye Adams:
I work for just being very old doesn’t it? I live in Glasgow, with my partner and my two kids, so I think I have a kind of different experience from a lot of my friends on this woman who live in London so I have lived in London and my first job was actually in Birmingham which absolutely loved Western Central Television but for the last like 25 years I’ve been based back in Glasgow, so I have, there’s something there just like for you 03:14 you forgive me for liquids I just sweaty 03:19 actually I shouldn’t even see run a stagger, my children laugh when I say it was a run, they throw yourself 03:26
Adam Stott:
How far did you go?
Kaye Adams:
I started with a clean cage to 5k again I nearly finished that before Christmas, and then I thought, nice weather I’m gonna get back to it, but I think sort of having my life is really divided between Glasgow and London because we have very different perspective and probably quite a good perspective from my point of view. Business wise if we’re talking business, probably not so good because part of my business is just being places, being booked launches that you don’t want to be at, all the sorts of events that you do want to be. I suppose you call it networking in any industry, don’t you, so I don’t get as much of an opportunity for them as people who live in London.
And, you know their ups and downs I mean I think business wise it’s not great, but in terms of my life, and just feeling, probably a bit more settled in my life, maybe than people who live in London, and there’s always that sort of, you know, I’ve been seen as I got enough visibility, have I got enough profile which can really make people pretty edgy. I don’t have that, so much so it’s kind of swings around about. So, it’s, it’s easy for me, you know, I mean I’ve lived where I’ve lived for a long time, people are so unexcited by me It’s frightening.
Adam Stott:
There’s a lot of people now here tonight 04:46 really excited to hear tonight from you but yeah it’s also nothing that you know I’ve certainly been a fan of the show and certainly seeing it on many times in..
Kaye Adams:
You’re gonna tell me you watch me when you’re at school Adam. I just know that.
Adam Stott:
05:02 school, but I’m not you know, it’s been there a long time, isn’t it the show’s been gone a long time. And what do you think the secret to05:10 what do you think is the secret to the longevity on this?
Kaye Adams:
Well, I don’t think there is a secret at all because what is it about is the very conversations, it’s about sharing stories, it’s about sharing experiences and opinions and that is never going to go out of fashion, you know, television formats they can be just that for, you know, you’ve got different effects and, but you start to see things come around again come around again, don’t you, but conversation is just not going to go out of fashion.
And in terms of female conversation, we do sometimes get 05:46 why the only got women that he should mix it up and everyone’s entitled to their view, but I mean to me that kind of misunderstands really want to sexism is, what the problems are. And the reality is and I don’t see this with any grudge whatsoever, is that there are very few forums that of which women can share their views and conversations in a kind of female way, and maybe I’m gender stereotyping there I don’t know but I think there’s a different kind of conversation that women have in a group.
So, I think, as I say there’s no great secret, it’s just people love to talk, people love to share stories and people love to be able to say, oh god, yeah, I know exactly what you mean, I’ve been through that as well. It was great. It was terrible, whatever. Well, I mean we will go away as individuals and we’ll get nice new fresh young lives but that doesn’t sound too creepy. But the concept will stay around that thing.
Adam Stott:
Yeah, awesome. So having done that for a long time and doing the radio. I mean whilst doing the radio like because you know you are at all times in the morning and a lot of people say you know the radio show is, is the hardest right because…
Kaye Adams:
I mean that is working for a living. It really is and I do want to say this to my friends on this woman but we’ll see if we’re absolutely honest, where it’s not working for a living, and we were so fortunate on that show, I mean, we’ll get on well, you know, we spend, as we get older, a good chunk of the morning and makeup of necessity, so I mean we all see as a real privilege.
And I also see the radio as privileged but it’s much harder work, and that’s not a bad thing. My dad always said hard work never killed anyone. But you know, I’m up at six, which for me is early because I’m not an early bird, and just the minute you wake up, you are, you know I’m checking news feeds, I’m checking websites, I’ve got the radio on, and so by the time I get into the office, I need to hit the ground running because, you know, a large part of is a phone and so you have to be talking about what everyone is talking about at that time in the morning.
So you have to think very quickly. I’ve got really good team of people, really young team that 08:06 actually really keep the energy going. And they are just talk for three hours. So by the end of it, I am just sick of myself, I just want, I actually walk home on my own talking to myself was shut up. For God’s sake, I’ve had enough of you.
Adam Stott:
08:22 Yeah, really nice, yeah but a lot a lot of people said to me no radios, it’s an absolute difficult must be really, you know, so you stay on trend of what’s going on in the world, all the time. It’s got a bit of pressure with that, no?
Kaye Adams:
Yeah, you know I love it, I guess that’s why I do the job that I do and I’m sure a lot of the people that you have listening that perhaps are thinking of setting up a business, or have recently leased that up is because they want to do what they love.
And you know there’s one conversation that I had, since a bit random, but it has always stuck with me. Do you ever had some tiny conversations in your life? Stick with you forever. And this must have happened years and years and years ago I had a problem with my back, so I went to see this guy who was going to sort my back out, and he was probably in his late 50s at that stage, I was a young thing.
And so anyway I’m chatting to him as I do you know how long you’ve been doing this, how’d you get into all that kind of stuff. And he said, actually it was quite recent. He just retrained and he was really loving it was good. Would you do before? He said, I worked for the Job Center I don’t know what they call it though, but we have a job center, wherever it was at a time. And then he paused, he said, I’ve worked for them for 30 years. And I hated every single second. And that was the way he said it. I saw, Wow, because I’ve never been in that position in my life, and I feel so fortunate that I mean, don’t get me wrong, there are times I want to throw the choice at the time, challenges like everybody else has some rejections. But doing what I love to do. And I think we do what you love to do. You always have to remember how fortunate you are.
Adam Stott:
And it’s difficult for people that don’t find what they love to do, you know someone doesn’t love to do and, you know, when I was in the automotive world, I said to you previously it’s funny, actually we had that conversation before we come on, you know, in, I didn’t, I never loved cars, you know, it was something that I did it for a long time. But I love what I do now and it never feels like work from, you know everything that I, you know, I think actually is an aspect of that even the guy that’s working on your band is probably getting a sense of fulfillment out of helping people right, you know,
Kaye Adams:
He was so happy, you know, it really find this thing, you know, and it was lovely, really lovely.
Adam Stott:
And I think when people do find their thing, it comes to, you know, it does get a big sense of fulfillment. Absolutely, without a shadow of a doubt, so we’re talking about the first business tip their cake business tip number one, he got. Yeah, there we go. 11:05
Kaye Adams:
That’s good, thank you. Doctors in our first year at the university and she, you know, she says, I don’t know what to do, I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what to do, to join your course and I said you know it’s just don’t sweat it, just, you don’t have to sweat it, you don’t have to make these big decisions right now, you just have to sort of meet people, talk to people, learn stuff, feel your way, and it will come, you know, but that takes a lot of faith and when you’re younger, of course, you always want to hit your stride, don’t, you’re in a hurry.
Adam Stott:
Yeah 100%. Yeah, she’s taken aback, she is she’s taken that on board or 11:42
Kaye Adams:
She’s got four years at uni, you know, it’s not for everybody, obviously, but I think it is right for her, and I mean I went down that path and what was great for me was, it was four years to grow up and mature, not have to make any life changing decisions, but as I say that there’s lots of ways into the world, that’s just one of them.
Adam Stott:
Absolutely. So I want to ask a couple of questions on Loose Women, so a few different ones I had in my mind but first of all, what’s kind of like the funniest man we started with a funny one what’s been a fun environment view over the years, or something 12:16 in your own words that you thought was fantastic or great day or something that happened at you loved.
Kaye Adams:
Yeah. This is honestly just so many, I mean this year has obviously been very different because we haven’t really been in the studio together, and when we have been clearly socially distance and mass etc. So it’s been a year like no other for everyone I know.
But prior to that we always used to say, I don’t think I’ve ever spent a day on this woman where we haven’t had at least one belly laugh, you know, just helpless with laughter. We do ridiculous things you didn’t think they were kind of late supposedly grown up mature ladies like me doing a handstand in the dressing in the makeup room and completely collapsing thank God I had somebody cycling him on. I mean, it’s like we revert to our youth. And in terms of the actual show, you know, I’m actually quite a nice sober person I don’t know people have an impression of me of being quite a kind of silver personal, I’m not particularly but that’s my 13:26 which is funnily enough, not how I see myself but there you go the you don’t get to choose how people see. So I think the take some kind of pleasure in getting me to do a ridiculous thing so I mean I have been lying half naked in a tree of green vegetables. I can’t even tell you why I was doing that Kylie Minogue decided to pose naked behind a guitar when she was 50 so they thought it’d be a good idea. I did that.
And, you know, all these kind of ridiculous things and probably when I was younger, I probably would have said no, because you know I was uptight you’re very self-conscious you’re worried about how people see you, but it is one of the benefits are supposed to have been around for a long time, you do get to a stage that you think, what the hell, it doesn’t really matter. Don’t take yourself too seriously. But you go home and you think, What the hell was I doing?
Adam Stott:
14:33 over the years and you feel that you develop more confidence to just go out there and do whatever you feel like doing in the moment?
Kaye Adams:
Yeah, yeah, I think you definitely do. Whether you get more confidence, or whether you lose the lack of confidence and I know that sounds like a very fine point. But I do think when you are younger and it’s funny seeing it in my own girls that you have such a keen sense of whether you fit in, whether you’re doing it and whether other people approve of you and I think actually for the younger generations though that’s probably even more so than it was when I was growing up. And I think that’s stops you doing lots of things. But as that kind of peels away, you think, well, why not.
Adam Stott:
Yeah, we spoke about that 15:19 and he talks about business and it was really about the concept of fear, and how fear can stop you from essentially putting yourself out there, I mean if you’re in the media, which you wish you hadn’t been for a long time and on TV and on radio, and doing all these different things, you know, how did you feel when you first went into that, did you have some fear or do you remember having fear or when you first put?
Kaye Adams:
A huge amount, and I can still think back though and think of particular occasions that I would be in a dressing room, you know, waiting for somebody to come and say right come on, and well to use Glasgow vernacular I would be shitting myself I mean like, seriously thinking I can’t do.
Adam Stott:
16:03
Kaye Adams:
Well, I just can’t do this. Can’t do it. And you’ve got to do it. And I think probably although it didn’t feel like at the time, It is one of those careers that you are fairly regularly put in that situation that you are crapping yourself, and you either do it or you don’t. And if you don’t, you’re done, you know, and I think that’s probably quite good for you as an individual and then, in time, of course.
Adam Stott:
For anyone who’s a business owner I think that we take this to, you know, into the business aspects is that anyone being a business owner that wants to succeed. Now, one of the things I frequently say is, I’ve got to find their voice, and they’ve got to find the ability to go and put themselves out there. And when we look at the media, and obviously they’re in media for a long time, and we look at social media now for a business owner, you know, I will often say to them that that is your media channel right, that is your means of communicating. That is your means of building relationships with people that you can’t meet in person but you can actually meet them through social media, which is your media channels and 100% I think that is a great way for business owners can build, but the issue is what you’ve pinpointed, 100% is that most people don’t take the steps to go and build relationships, because they suffer from fear, or they don’t take the steps to neutralize or could be their media channel, because they suffer from fear, you know, and some of those fears are things like, is anybody watching, are people going to judge me while my friends and family are going to say about me, you know what if somebody sees is what if I do it wrong, you know, and I’m actually some of those fears are familiar right?
Kaye Adams:
Oh very. Yeah. What if I look stupid?
Adam Stott:
What I want to ask you then, which is, there is ties in perfectly is right, because it’s totally relevant for the people who are watching right now, there’s been a lot of people starting businesses have grown businesses and they’ve got a lot of self out there. What was it that helps you to overcome that fear? Do you think?
Kaye Adams:
Oh, I think my mother’s genes, was a very tenacious person sadly no longer with me. I’ll be like, my mom and dad were both closer 18:16 background I mean I’m not saying that for any big reason but I’ve been in Scotland, you know we have a pretty flat social structure which I think is a healthy things so you like my granny was a hospital cleaner. My grandpa was a minor mother grandpa was a dock worker, you know, very good, decent hard working solid people, you know, great people and, you know, gave both my mom and dad really good upbringing.
But they weren’t educated and, you know, they worked in manual labor. And my dad was a bit of a charmer. And so he left school at 13 but he had the gift of the gab and met my mom, who had the brains, which was good. So she left nursing and the parents have admitted that you’d have been the first person to say, he had the charm, she had the brains, and they set up a small haulage business together in their late 20s which was a huge move for them. I mean I think 19:14 and everything in the house to buy a secondhand truck, and went from there so I was brought up with that, you know, they were real grafters real hard workers, and know that they wanted something better because, you know, to be honest they were never materialistic people they never had fancy stuff. It was all about security, and, you know, working hard in order to make something of yourself that silly phrase that people use, that was really important to them.
So that’s what I grew up with. And as I say it was very much in my genes so I was always going to push myself and I think my brother’s the same, and I think probably my own kids will then inherit it, because that’s every conversation that we ever had.
Adam Stott:
We’re showing you how that was pre generations and isn’t it right? 20:07 and how much it feeds into your children, you know, would you say you’re really grateful for that? Is that something that you 20:15
Kaye Adams:
Yeah, so grateful, you know, once you do get to my age and I’m not going to tell you what it is to don’t ask me a lie all the time and I’m perfectly open about it but I’m writing about either even my Wikipedia page is a lie. So if you look at the truth, not the truth, I’m a stranger to the truth when it comes to that. But, you know I’ve been very fortunate to have a career in the media so. Well, I’m certainly not wealthy but I’m comfortable enough which is nice and I’m grateful for, but 100% of that has been cheesy, the luckiest break in my life is having the parents that I had.
And I think if you have that as a starting point, then you’re way ahead, and I am very aware that not everybody has that. And I think that is a huge handicap but that’s doesn’t sound like a great word but I have great admiration for people who really put themselves forward and achieve what they haven’t had that kind of solid family life to support them.
Adam Stott:
Yeah, absolutely, and I do you find that several common traits. I feel with people that are successful is to encourage others to be more successful they want to see people. But sometimes there is another aspect where people that are not successful. Have you know an almost an instilled hatred, almost for something we’re doing well, but if you received much of that, you know over your years in in TV and radio where you feel bad feedback or not really, it’s not been a big deal.
Kaye Adams:
There’s bitchiness, there’s always bitchiness but, you know, I’ve got to be honest enough with myself. Adam I haven’t done as well as I would have wanted to you know if you’d asked me in my late 20s, what was I aspiring to? And somebody had been able to look forward. All these years and said well that so far you’ll get probably quite pissed off because I was very ambitious.
Adam Stott:
I said if you shoot for the moon you hit the stars right?
Kaye Adams:
Yeah but I think also what you learn as you get older is that the ambition that you have when you’re younger is very singular, and it does tend to be focused particularly if you’re going for a career in the media on how much money you’re going to make have famously you’re going to be, you know, Are you going to be seen to succeed? Yeah, and I guess one of the things I’ve learned after all these years, that’s not necessarily a measure, or a success or happiness, or a sense of security, it takes a lot more to create those things and I guess one of the sort of strange benefits of having the career that I’ve had is that I have met and spoken to many people who are to the outside world far more successful than I will ever be far more wealthy than I’ll ever be. But I wouldn’t swap places with them.
Adam Stott:
Yeah, not as happy yeah.
Kaye Adams:
Yeah because they’re anxious or insecure, they worry about what people think about them, they don’t sleep at night, they don’t have good relationships. You know, that’s not a good. That doesn’t like a good deal to me, you know.
Adam Stott:
Absolutely, absolutely. I have to ask as you point out what were some of those ambitions? What was there a particular ambition that you wanted to do? Is there something on the bucket list or the target this was there’s something there that you feel quite happen?
Kaye Adams:
Well know to be honest I don’t think it was particularly I want that job, but it was all these kind of abstract notions of I want to be their best. I want to do well I want to be great. You know,
Adam Stott:
I love that you just said that the reason I asked that is because I want you to understand your specific. And you just said it was abstract right, is because when somebody has specific goals. It’s very rare that they’re gonna meet it, but when it’s abstract, you’re almost not allowing yourself to get there are you because there is no that is not real is it to me that is not real, is it, you know, and often that’s really interesting that you say.
Kaye Adams:
And what does it mean? I mean, my daughter was at university will say to me I want to do well. And I say to what does that mean, what does that look like, what is doing well look like, you know, you only learn that 24:37
Adam Stott:
You know the next business tip is people need to be absolutely 100% clear on where they’re going, if they want to end up there there’s no point having really goals, there’s no one, you know, putting things out there that statement, right, I want to be successful. Okay, well what is success to you, you know what does success look like, how you’re going to feel when you get there, you know, what’s it going to mean to you when you get there, you know, what is it what is it going to represent? How do you know you’re going to reach that goal? And that’s one of the things that we certainly advise people on is trying to understand what is it for you that is going to make you feel like you’ve got to where you wanted to get to so it’s really interesting that you said that because otherwise people could not be by this, you seem very grateful and very humbled and that you seem like you’ve loved what you love what you do you said that out, which is awesome but sometimes we were done. And I think the people that don’t have because they don’t get to a point but actually happy that they can sell on the right.
Kaye Adams:
To be honest I think that’s why there’s a lot of people in the media business entertainment business who to the rest of us look as if they’re super successful but actually they are very unhappy and very dissatisfied because it’s never enough. Because they don’t know what it is that they’re looking for. So they always need something else, they need something else, and that hunger is never seated. And so what is it that they really want, and it’s quite a lonely place to be because you’re a very difficult person to be around and so your relationships tend to suffer as a result, you know, so you can have all the houses and yachts and money in the world. But you can’t go to dinner with them. Can you?
Adam Stott:
26:15
Kaye Adams:
And you’ve got hold on If people say to you, yeah, you’re great and then they walk away and they go 26:25 I mean, who needs that?
Adam Stott:
Brilliant stuff. So, one thing that I did want to ask about, which I saw, which is really cool, is you’ve got new book called 26:38
Kaye Adams:
I do, I have a copy beside me, believe me I didn’t necessarily have it but it just happens to be the same.
Adam Stott:
Show us probably then. Let’s have a good look.
Kaye Adams:
Oh well, that’s very kind of you. There you go. Still hot.
Adam Stott:
I want to see the cover looks awesome. Yeah.
Kaye Adams:
It’s a nice color actually isn’t it. Yeah, co-authored with Vicki. So, it is, it’s basically just 42 stories of the menopause, for women’s experiences, and there’s been a lot about that in recent times, which is a really good thing that we’ve got a greater list about it.
But I was interested, and I’m sorry I forgotten the lady’s name who was saying that she had changed jobs to become an oncology massage therapist, Sharon, apologies, the old brains go on, you probably know what that’s like. And I’m really interested in women who are that that stage of their lives sort of mid 40s and on. Not necessarily because of the menopause, but I mean, the sort of symptoms of menopause are very wide and varied, it can cause women to feel anxious, lack of confidence they can have physical symptoms that make them feel uncomfortable and within a corporate structure, unless it’s a very progressive corporate structure, it can become quite an uncomfortable place to be. And so you are seeing more women who are deciding right okay I’m not going to be on this hamster wheel anymore. I want to do something else that feels better for me, I don’t know be interesting. That was a part of Sharon’s kind of decision making, which is great for these women.
Adam Stott:
I know that resonates because we’re having been, you know, training, lots of room for many years, especially you know, still hot. We haven’t had a lot of women that we trained have told me about this I mean it’s just, I mentioned to you before we come on one of our clients who again. You know he’s training people in this area on yoga now, and it’s a big concern for her not one of our clients Debbie I don’t know she’s watching, has done some training as she was part of the business that was helping people with retreats, as well and you know it’s a big subject, and I love the way that you framed it around business as well and said that, you know what we’ve done, understand that, I mean you’ve got as you said there’s 42 stories in the book, right, yeah. So, is through the eyes of 42 women in the book is that is that was like, what that feels right for what was the driver for the idea is 29:10
Kaye Adams:
What I mean. Yeah, no, no, Vicki, I mean I guess we’re two women all be similar age, you know, and it does tend to be a conversation that you start to have when it becomes real for you, and you don’t have the conversation when it’s not real for you, which I guess is one of the problems so it tends to become isolated to the group of women directly affected.
And that begins our problems, I think, for business, you know, having looked into more know where for individual women if you decide, okay, this is a time of my life that I want to do something different. They’re showing that it was key. Oh there we go. That’s good. Green seeds retrained at 49, you know, and it’s wonderful, you know that at any stage in your life you say I want to go in another direction, but I think business has to look at this because if you are going to see a number of women and then the numbers are quite staggering who are going to rethink their career, you’re losing talent, and you’ve perhaps got women who are now at the stage that they should be stepping up, they’ve got all that experience, you know that they should be coming into their own, and this should be an asset to the business, but instead of thinking, you know what, this just isn’t a place that’s comfortable for me so I’m going to step out. Now we know that we don’t have enough women in senior management we know we don’t have that representation we know it’s an issue. I’m not saying that everything is done in the menopause, I’m not trying to make it some sort of cause, or whatever, but we’ve got to understand, I mean I think most progressive businesses, no, that they have to understand their people.
They have to know where their people are what they’re thinking, what’s affecting them in their lives, because ultimately they want to get the best out, and you’re not going to get the best out of people, unless you can meet them where they are so I think it’s interesting to consider how business will deal with this because to see all right we’ll have a menopause group and all you women with a few hairs coming out your chin can go and sit over there and discuss it. That’s actually good enough, because, I mean there’s very good research to say that, you know 80% of women who are affected by the menopause at work or wouldn’t speak to their sort of lame manager, if they were a lot younger, or if it was a guy or they just kind of felt, they’re not going to understand, obviously.
Adam Stott:
Obviously, me as a business owner, because you know as a man I don’t understand what it’s like, you know, obviously I’ve never gone understand what I was like, so it’s kind of like, and you’re totally right if you want to get good performance out of your people you need to understand your people, a massive part of business, you know, and understanding that, and sometimes you’re done right, sometimes you don’t. Sometimes you don’t see it. If someone doesn’t tell you that you don’t know you wouldn’t know. Absolutely and I think I had specifically, I’ve had a lady with me for 13 years, she’s very talented. I don’t think this is the issue. If it wasn’t the issue, but she wouldn’t tell me to understand what mean I think that that was a, you know, is a big thing so I really value understanding. And for me, the mindset of the people that work for us very important,
Kaye Adams:
Yeah because I mean if it’s never gonna hypotheticals but say for instance her parents were very ill and she was having to support her parents. And that was really draining her reserves as, as it does, it’s a very stressful situation that lots of people find themselves, to be able to come and tell you about that, wouldn’t you?
Adam Stott:
Of course, yeah.
Kaye Adams:
Yeah, and you would want to be able to sort of build in a situation that accommodated that or you know she was struggling with a mental health for whatever reasons or physical health, or whatever reasons, you would want to be the employer who was able to take that on board, and if you could make accommodations. So I think menopause should absolutely be on the agenda to be considered in the same way we one of the people, and I’m not going to say you’re not trying to take over with the book.
Adam Stott:
This is the thing, the way I am, is I’m a lifelong learner. I love learning. I love learning about different things, and there will be a lot of people that are out there want to kind of learn about different things. I would say that if I was a woman. And this is coming up for me I will want to know what is true and when anytime if somebody can now always like helps you to control or manage the situation better doesn’t it, so I can ask you 100% see how a lot of people concerned can kind of see the value in, in doing that, and I actually really like books at 33:40 story form especially, especially true stories, and there’s some really good ones in there, as they’re like, is it kind of light hearted Is it funny or is.
Kaye Adams:
Yeah, I mean, There’s lots of poor husbands who have no idea what’s happening and they’re kind of an inch away from a knife and they never knew it has to be said a bit of the rage, but there’s real honesty in it which are really, you know, respect the women who’ve contributed for because you know, a lot of them have got kind of big jobs we’ve got Baroness Sayeeda Warsi in there who’s a member of the House of Lords, so she’s a senior conservative she was on Stand Up to Cancer actually this week she did a brilliant job that stand up comedy.
And, you know, for someone like that who’s very aware of her position, she said she could remember an occasion she stood up in the House of Lords to get this blistering speech you know this was her moment, and our brain just froze, she just could a lot of women in the city will remember that, or recall that situation of just, brain fog, freeze or whatever you call it, I mean, my god.
Adam Stott:
34:42 in the comments, yeah.
Kaye Adams:
Jesus, The world is watching me you’re looking around this is not a very forgiving environment I forgot what you’re going to see another woman who’s the head teacher, kind of high performing school. And you know, parents are coming in talking about the kids and she said I just went through a stage, and looking at them smiling thinking, I don’t know who your kid is, I don’t know who you are. I don’t know what you’re doing here.
I still a very capable woman it’s not as if all of our faculties absolutely disaster but you have these kind of moments but of course because you’re embarrassed by that or you don’t really want to be open about it or it can be seen as a sign of weakness that somebody is watching you try and cover up. Whereas if you didn’t need to cover up, if people were more aware of what was happening and they go, Yeah, we had to worry about it, that it wouldn’t be an issue, wouldn’t it?
Adam Stott:
With less pressure Yeah, it’d be a lot less pressure, or you know certainly get, I don’t suppose you have a link to UK, where’s the best place to go and get your book?
Kaye Adams:
Well, Amazon, 35:56 Amazon, which has everything at the moment, doesn’t it?
Adam Stott:
36:01 is an old systems, wanting to morrow by tomorrow water signs if you’re wanting to expand
Kaye Adams:
Systems if you don’t like Jeff Bezos, yeah.
Adam Stott:
Yes, yeah that’s true is that is that something already found really interesting is you mentioned to me that you are going on the circle. Now we are going on, say that how many right because it’s bad for our God. Right. You know she’s really interesting now watch the conversion of the circle. 36:39 mom’s back, and I really, I must admit I really enjoyed it. I thought it was really fun. It was really really good. It was really interesting because it’s almost like a lockdown situations where people kind of, yeah, holes and stuff like that so you know what’s it been, what was it like, do you want to join us.
Kaye Adams:
Well, I mean it’s, it’s a special kind of week that channel for dead as part of their Stand Up to Cancer campaign, and we knew over the last year in particular I mean they’ve been running Stand Up to Cancer for a long time but because of all the resources that have been thrown at the pandemic, for very good reason, you know, lots of these other chronic conditions like cancer. Perhaps I’ve got the attention that they would normally have so it was really good to be able to be involved in it from that point of view, so that’s, that’s why they’re doing it for a week.
So there’s a whole bunch of us some of us are cat fishing to we’re pretending to be somebody else and other people are trying to convince everyone that they really aren’t who they are. So I went in with my friend and fellow loose women Nadia Sawalha, we’ve known each other for a very long time, and together we were trying to convince everybody that we were Gemma Cullins, to tell you that I’m allowed to tell you that it’s alright. Don’t worry.
Adam Stott:
37:57
Kaye Adams:
38:00 Believe me, I’ve been well drilled, and so it starts the week, tomorrow night, the night on 38:06 Gemma knows yet she had to give her approval from the beginning, it was to try and be loving. Yeah, she was really generous with that she was very relaxed about it.
So it’s a real cat and mouse game, but my God, I was one of those people before, that would watch reality television, like the jungle, whatever loved that. And I used that, for God’s sake, they know the cameras there Jesus was wrong with them these stupid people. Now having done it. I am like oh my god, I have the cameras with them. I completely forgot my professional face I was ranting and raving Nadia and I were showing each other is potentially career ending. This might be the last interview that I ever do.
Adam Stott:
Yeah so that was all that’d be awesome. I sent you before that I’m really good friendly with Gemma for many years ago and still friends to this day. So I think that’d be really fine with applying because she’s a character right so yeah so what a great person to go on there and to actually play I think it’s going to be phenomenal. Right.
Kaye Adams:
Yeah, Nadia was convincing me that she was like doing a method acting thing she was channeling Gemma. She was all she said she was speaking like Gemma, once we see it on television I think we’ll see something completely different, but I mean she went through Bob De Niro, on the whole experience so she got herself a Castletown, she really went for it bemusement.
Adam Stott:
That’d be really fun. I’ve actually been brilliant so that’d be awesome. The other thing we spoke about previously before we jumped on was we spoke about your friend’s makeup business and traveling to China thing so you traveled over China. He was saying that how much you saw the industry and you actually said to me that I thought was really interesting, just how driven people were on sales over there which is really interesting . Do you want to say a little bit about that experience?
Kaye Adams:
Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I’ve always wanted to go to Japan knows where to go to Japan and China and Hong Kong I don’t know what these fascinations you know that you have at Hong Kong.
Yeah, we did, we went twice and actually we were there 2019, when the riots were in full swing and. And that was actually really sad because we’ve been here before and I fell in love with Hong Kong, I really got such a great energy from it. And for the second year we went the riots were in full swing and you know we got caught up and then we had to run from the tear gas we had the full experience but, you know, to see essentially young students in shorts and t-shirts and plimsolls running away from the most heavily tooled up police you’ve seen in a long time was really quite alarming but anyway that’s a sidebar, but the sense of entrepreneurship there is incredible.
Anyway, so the Sedona, who is the head makeup artist on the on Loose Women she’s very entrepreneurial, young woman in a sort of early 40s. So she set up a makeup accessories brand called Bonomi London. She’s got a great makeup bag, which is a really unusual design so she’s doing really good. And so she said, I’m going to go to China, I’m going to meet my suppliers and I’m just going to get some ideas from there to want to come and, like, don’t be ridiculous. What am I going to do more, I’m not going to come to China just carry your bags or whatever and she said yeah come and carry my bags I said no.
It wasn’t long after my mother died, you know, and sometimes when you’ve had those kind of experiences you just don’t know where the hell you are. I just want a complete impulse I said, Okay, I’ll come. I love doing I’ve got such admiration for her, she’s a real go getter. So I did go, I was the PA ,she said I was the worst pa she’s ever come across in her life and she just sacked me she had to pay me. But we went around all these factories in China, We met lots of mainly young women who were so sharp and on it, and it really kind of made you think about like Western culture we tend to look to American culture, and I’m not going to get into the politics of it because I know when we look at the politics of China there’s things that we really do not admire, but it really made you think these are kind of first generation, educated, entrepreneurs, and the hunger that they have in them, and their capacity for work, and putting in the arrows is just incredible. They really you can see this, this real keenness and them to succeed, which is really impressive.
You know, and even though they’ve got like a first job, they’ll also be selling something on the side they’re on WeChat but on different platforms. And they’re just so full of energies so full of energies so for the dynamism. It is a wonderful experience. It really was and to go back the next year and see more. Unfortunately in Hong Kong, we were right in the middle of the riots and that’s the flip side of it when you see democracy being utterly squashed by the Chinese government then you think, this isn’t all that I thought it was, but Yeah, wonderful experience I’d love to go back if we ever get to fly in the sky here.
Adam Stott:
43:59 bring this view that the lot that you’re going to write for your how have you felt about it?
Kaye Adams:
Well, I mean I’ve worked all the way through it so I’m really grateful for that. I’m very aware of people who have just had their livelihoods taken away from them, people have had their lives taken away from them so you have to have a real sense of gratitude for where you have where you are, but I hated it. I mean I wouldn’t make any secret of it, I mean, I’d love to say I was one of those people who settled into baking bread netting, but..
Adam Stott:
44:30 to be fair,
Kaye Adams:
I like traveling I like socializing I might like people I like being busy, I’m not somebody who likes sitting in the house that much to know I haven’t found it particularly easy, but I’m still grateful, you know what I mean,
Adam Stott:
Yeah of course absolutely affects a lot of people, you know that shatter it now, but we’ve got a question that’s coming from volume. So if you want to pursue a career in radio broadcasting what would be your advice a really good question there.
Kaye Adams:
I think the advice that I would give no say different from the path that I took because broadcasting was so closed. The wonderful thing now45:12 is that you can go and do your own stuff, and any radio broadcaster I mean if you’re going to go to one of the recognized broadcasters if you like what they’re going to want is evidence of your work, and you can set up a podcast, you can start to do interviews with people you can create your own body of work. You don’t even need to be on a, I’m trying to think what you call a recognized broadcast, I mean obviously I just talked for the BBC, but I mean digital radio is absolutely huge and know, you’ve got this kind of synergy between.
Adam Stott:
Oh yeah, yeah,
Kaye Adams:
Yeah, absolutely. It’s about content though that’s what I would say to people, so whether you’re producing video content or it’s just audio content, you have the means to publish it and get out there to the world. So the best advice is start doing, just start doing it, think about what is interesting to you, where you want to talk about who you want to talk to, and start producing stuff, because until now you’ve got a bit of a body of work, then you’re not going to be able to make introductions to people say well why don’t you listen to this, you know, I’m interested in doing X, Y and Zed and I’ve already done this way you have a less than. That’s your first step. So you jumped in the game.
Adam Stott:
Lovely answer, the answer is phenomenal because thing the game probably has changed quite a bit, you know, if you say, if you’ve got a fantastic podcast, you can go and get fantastic guests if you don’t have a fantastic focus you go and get that.
And if you did want to get on radio, then you know if you can go and demonstrate the you’re a fantastic presenter, or you can demonstrate, you’re a great interviewer then people want to take you seriously but if you don’t are not able to demonstrate that, then there are plenty of other people that will say, Hang on there and stop making it happen yourself, then Joe I love, I love the answer I think it’s absolutely spot on. It’s not what I expected you to say now for years, but I think it’s absolutely spot on. Isn’t it awesome, awesome marks, they’re so brilliant, but really I never quite question him so once was Snell, who actually the question that I was gonna, surely, discuss, who’s the most interesting person that you interviewed and why.
Kaye Adams:
You know I do get asked this question a lot and I think I always disappoint people a little bit with the answer because I have been fortunate enough to interview some very famous people I when I was like 24 I got an hour long interview with Margaret Thatcher at Downing Street while she was that Prime Minister so I mean, I guess if you’re looking for a headline names that’s going to be mine in my career.
But hand on heart; the most interesting people that I’ve interviewed are probably people that you have never heard of. There are people who have found themselves in extraordinary circumstances and have responded in extraordinary ways and to a certain extent, you know people who become famous, you know, in the entertainment world. It’s not that they don’t have talent of course they have talent but, you know, they’re the lucky people.
The interviews that I walk away from. I’ll go wow, I mean I’ll give you just one example, but one example, a woman who has no setup after charity, she was a businesswoman. She was working in the haulage industry as it happens. She had a cough developed into pneumonia developed in sepsis, she literally woke up in hospital, and her legs beneath the knee and her hands had been amputated, that she walked from a called coma to find out that she was a quadruple amputee.
And her response to this has been incredible. She had to fight for her life for many months, obviously learned to what was pathetic she’s actually the first woman I think to have to hand graft, so she now has two grafted hands. She has set up a charity. She is still the dynamic person that she was before but she’s putting her energies in a different direction. And, you know she is making a difference in the world, absolutely making a difference in the world.
Now that’s interesting to me, you know, where does an individual find that strength of character, and that drive to come back from that kind of adversity, know people might not know her new name 49:35 but those are the people that I interview that I walk away oh my god,
Adam Stott:
That is absolutely fascinating. Brilliant. She was more confectioner.
Kaye Adams:
You know what she was not at all the way I expected I mean, I was not long at university bit of a lefty, coming from Glasgow, yeah, so I was a bit kind of I’m gonna sort you missus how wrong was I. So I thought that she would be quite sort of competent, and she wasn’t she was like my favorite Auntie she, I remember walking up doing she wish you could in those days there was no barriers or anything and I knocked on the door and the policeman satisfied me it was like going to see if your power was coming out to play you know as Margaret and she actually answered the door and assured me in state 10 Downing Street she wiped down my corner because I had some fluff on it and she sort of baby me really, which caught me completely unawares, and it was only on reflection I realized that it was absolute genius on her part because it was in there, you know, kind of returning to square up to her. Sure, a thing or two.
But she completely took the fire out of me, because she was friendly, she was pleasant she offered to show me around, you know, obviously she was a little older than me, so she didn’t patronize me to be fair, but it was very obvious very quickly that she was a top dog, and I was a young whippersnapper who’d come to play, and then never got out of that, you know, she can be really both the interview was without being busy, which is quite a trick so yeah I look back with some respect I have to say, Yeah.
Adam Stott:
Awesome. Brilliant. I love that. Both answers really good. We’ve got an HSA and I’m always grateful I’ve loved listening to you. Before we wrap up, so we’ve got Rain that said do you prefer to set up a company or your own to set up in the company or your own business. So do you prefer being a part of something being part of a company? Kaye, or do you prefer to be in your own business?
Kaye Adams:
Cool, that’s a tricky one, I mean in the media business you’re you’re freelance. I am freelance. So I suppose I am a bit of a gun for hire. I don’t particularly fancy being in a position where employing people are responsible for people responsible for other people’s lives. Having said that, I don’t like being part of a corporate structure, not, I am a respecter of authority, but I am a bit of a navy squat, I don’t like being told what to do too much. I’m not really a company person. I see. That’s an interesting question that we often get asked that we’ve watched your experience of women in management roles perception and it’d be tougher to match males and similar roles.
Yeah, I think I’ve certainly seen quite a bit of that in my career, but I absolutely think it is getting better, I think as women are better represented in the workplace, and have more confidence in their own skills and a different way of doing things, then that kind of situation that you’re talking about Hana is kind of faded away. I mean, funny enough talking about Margaret Thatcher there. She was always referred to the best man in the cabinet, and it was a standing joke spitting image at the table was sort of dressed her up in a pinstripe suit, and as she was actually being foul for meal in the cabinet, despite the fact that she was a woman. I do think that is changing.
And that was the actually my best boss ever was, was a woman, and she did her own way, she didn’t try and be mature about it, she was absolutely true to herself, and she was a brilliant boss.
Adam Stott:
Absolutely, I think, are really falling off one of my clients and a friend, and actually some of the staff coaching for us and our clients. I won’t say he is certainly watching but she said to me the other day she went to a company right. And she goes into this company, and if you can imagine this is a big company, it’s got hundreds of staff, and she’s asked to go in and do performance reviews, and how to increase their performance so she’s worked with the board of directors and one of the board of directors is an Operations Director, well-known within the company, for being an ass, right, and well-known for not wanting to kind of help him and unfortunately. Tell me his story the other day and it was genius where she needs to go I burst into the meeting with her. And he goes, right, we’ve started two minutes behind, first of all want to know why are we starting two minutes behind.
And secondly, I don’t even know what I’m doing right, as if you’re going to come and coach me on my performance I’m already the top performer in the company. And she said, Okay, so one or two things then wherever his name was he said one or two things you’re either a complete asshole, or you’ve come into this meeting, trying to make me feel inferior. So which one is it? 54:52
I didn’t mean to come across as an asshole. That’s okay. That way I don’t hold grudges but what I’d like to know is, you know, what was your intention, how did you want me to feel when you came into the meeting in that way.
Kaye Adams:
Oh wow. 55:06
Adam Stott:
That guy’s absolutely melted, and after he’s come out and apparently is recommended to everyone in the place as the person but absolutely boss the situation, but not by being an alpha, but just by being smart.
Kaye Adams:
Yeah, absolutely and then being very authentic. She didn’t engage in whatever game he was trying to play she just she just called them out on it. Absolutely. 55:36
Adam Stott:
For a number of years she’s smart and smart as hell. Watching 55:42 you know, but the last questions before we wrap up, We’ll make nice quick sharp answers but we got Charlotte the same. What’s the best piece of advice you could give someone try and start there, it’s trying to grow their own business?
Kaye Adams:
I think it’s probably going back to what we’ve already discussed Adam is really focused on what is it that you want to get out of this, and what is success gonna look like to you and try and give yourself some specific, not necessarily goals because you can give yourself goals and they can change and you can decide to go in a different direction but I think you have to give yourself specifics, rather than abstracts. It’s like climbing a wall, you know those climbing walls that you get indoors, I think you do have to see where your next orders or your next handhold. I don’t know if you’d agree Adam?
Adam Stott:
I love it. Yeah, love it, lovely example. Yeah, trying to, you know chart your part actually look, obviously the end goal is. So I’ve got my view over here and then over here that I really is like that, in business all the time you are having to manage situations but this is really interesting, I had this an interview with. I’m just trying to the chapter runs Ella’s kitchen by Northstar. Ella’s kitchen good brand right. And we were talking about having that North Star, so that North Star is that this is where I want to get to, and that’s going to guide your overall decisions, right, culturally, you got to make those little moves across the way and goes from side to side and do some things that you didn’t necessarily want to do in order to chart your path absolutely, so yeah like the answer love the I love the analogy, really good. Awesome.
Yeah, so we had a ton of good feedback tonight it’s been really awesome to have you. I’ve really enjoyed it, and it’s also really easy to have a chat. I felt like we were just sitting there having a lovely chat which is really nice.
Kaye Adams:
Yeah, it’s really interesting. Thanks very much for inviting me. I’ve enjoyed it.
Adam Stott:
I’ve loved it, make sure you go and pick up a copy of case books. This Friday one last time. Still 57:51 42 Stories. 42 women’s stories on that journey, which sounds really interesting.
Kaye Adams:
Julie Graham, Tracy Corks, Denise wells were part of the this was Louise mentioned Trinny Woodall got a really good lineup in there. In my glamorous life now, I’ve got to go and wash up the dishes because I left them.
Adam Stott:
Awesome, well thank you very much Kaye.
Kaye Adams:
Thank you everybody.