Sarah Page spent a decade in the UK record business, from an intern role at BMG to EMI, before deciding she was done waiting for someone else to see she was ready. She walked away from the major labels, moved into music merchandise, and later relocated to the US, where she retrained as a coach for women in the music industry.

In this conversation, Sarah joins Natalie to break down what coaching actually is (and how it differs from mentorship), how to find the right coach, and why so many experienced women still doubt themselves despite the evidence. She also shares why it's time to move from proving yourself to backing yourself.

In this Episode:

• How Sarah went from a BMG internship to a decade at major record labels, and the moment she decided not to wait around to be recognized

• Why she left the "pinnacle of the music industry" for music merchandise, and the unsolicited advice she got on the way out

• What coaching actually is, and how it differs from mentorship

• How to find the right coach, and why chemistry calls matter

• Why experienced women still doubt themselves with the evidence in front of them

• The small things allies can do in the room

• How to ask your company to fund coaching, or bring in a workshop instead

• Her advice for women still climbing

Learn more about Sarah Page at: www.sarahpagecoach.com

Subscribe to Off the Page: https://www.sarahpagecoach.com/newsletter

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Gear Used in this Episode:

• Shure MV7+ Podcast Microphone

• On-Stage Low-Profile Broadcast Boom Arm

• CAD Audio: Podmaster SuperD Microphone

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This episode is presented by Women of NAMM and CAD Audio.

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This episode was co-produced and edited by Natalie Morrison, Stephanie Lamond, and Julia Olsen.

Music by: Lucky Lamond

Two and a half years ago, Kelly Riordan joined the podcast table in the early days of building Outside the Bachs. Now she’s back, in person, in Natalie’s apartment, catching us up on everything that’s changed.

Kelly talks candidly about growing from entrepreneur to business owner, taking more risks at in-person events, hiring for the first time, and reflecting on how we can take ourselves too seriously. We get into content creation, some insecurities we didn’t know we were still carrying, and how to use feedback instead of absorbing all of it. This raw, vulnerable conversation moves through allyship, the gaps in music education and women in music, and what it takes to build a career that doesn’t follow a straight line.

At its core, it’s a conversation about growth. New things are scary. Then, eventually, they’re not.

In This Episode:

• Kelly and Natalie reunite in person for the first time, recording live from Natalie's apartment after Kelly's trip through NFA

• Kelly reflects on the shift from feeling like an entrepreneur to actually feeling like a business owner and CEO

• The story behind hiring her first salesperson, and the outside validation that helped her trust the decision

• A candid look at the Airbnb ad that sparked a viral video, and what actually holds Kelly back from posting her opinions online

• Why Kelly keeps a "nice file" of screenshots and kind words, and how she uses it to build tolerance for criticism

• A breakdown of how Kelly filters feedback: considering the source and considering the motive

• The ongoing lack of diversity at the top levels of classical music, and why the data and anecdotes alone haven't been enough to shift it

• A call for men to be brought more directly into the allyship conversation, not just as spectators

• Why music schools rarely prepare students for the business side of a music career, and the case for making entrepreneurship part of the curriculum

• Kelly's advice to a new student she mentored at NFA: take the gap year, take the risk, and know that new things are scary until they're not

• What contentment has come to mean for Kelly, two and a half years after episode one

Learn more about Outside the Bachs. Listen to her podcast and follow on social media.

Gear Used in this Episode:

• Shure MV7+ Podcast Microphone

• On-Stage Low-Profile Broadcast Boom Arm

• CAD Audio: Podmaster SuperD Microphone

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This episode is presented by Women of NAMM and On-Stage Stands

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This episode was co-produced and edited by Natalie Morrison, Stephanie Lamond, and Julia Olsen.

Music by: Lucky Lamond

Mayumi Allison had no intention of joining the family business until her mother became the one pushing her to take the leap. As CEO of HOSA Technology, Mayumi joins Natalie to talk about what it took to build credibility on her own terms, from bringing basic structure to a company that had grown organically for forty years, to sitting with employees who knew the business better than she did. She shares what it was like to learn she was the daughter of a founder people actually recognized, why "Connecting What Moves You" is more than a company tagline to her, and why she believes the best thing women in this industry can do is find each other.

In this Episode:

• How thirteen years in mortgage banking became the unexpected foundation for running a musical instrument company

• The moment a coworker recognized her father's company before she did, and what it revealed about the brand he'd built without her knowing

• Coming in as "the owner's daughter," the fear of being seen as riding coattails, and how she earned trust from staff who'd been there for years

• Bringing simple structure, like an org chart, to a business that had never needed one before her

• What it took to stop questioning every decision and start recognizing the business as hers to run

• Serving on the NAMM Board of Directors, why she said yes without hesitation, and why she's committed to bringing more women into the room

• What tariffs had to do with her decision to attend her first NAMM DC Fly-In

• Her all-time favorite concert, and the regret of not writing down every show before this one

  
  

Learn more about HOSA Technology.

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This episode is presented by Women of NAMM and Powered by AKG.

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This episode was co-produced and edited by Natalie Morrison, Stephanie Lamond, and Julia Olsen.

Music by: Lucky Lamond