If I ask you to imagine a scenario where there are 16 people living under one roof (with only three bathrooms), you’ll likely conjure images of:

1. A frat house

2. An artist’s commune

3. A polygamous cult

So it’s hard to imagine that sensible, hardworking, and well-educated adults would willingly create this environment.

And it’s even harder to imagine that this living situation was the healthiest possible environment for all involved — but that’s exactly what happened. So here we go…

🍻 THE DRUNK BUSINESS ADVICE 

👉 Kindness, fairness, and putting the needs of others before your own is actually a valid career strategy.

👉️ The next time you find yourself prioritizing your work at the expense of your work relationships, just stop and think about Katy.

👉 It’s Mother’s Day. Call your mom.

And now — the story behind why this advice matters. 👇️ 

But first…

Turning problems into wine 🍷 

This week’s reader question 👇️ 

"My Google Drive is overflowing. I try to keep it organized, but is there a way to use AI to make all this stuff searchable beyond just keywords?”

-David, Houston

What Jesus has to say 👇️ 

Your Google Drive doesn’t need more folders. It needs a brain.

I recommend using Pinecone (a vector database) + Glide (a no-code app builder) to turn your files into a searchable database. The best part is that you don’t need to be tech savvy — there’s a two-click integration between these platforms 👊

First, import the contents of your Google Drive to Pinecone, where it will turn everything into AI-readable data.

Then use Glide to create a simple interface where you (or your employees) can literally ask questions of your data.

Finally, connect the platforms with two clicks, and the interface will be able to generate answers and retrieve data directly from your files. It’s astonishing how much time can be saved.

And if you need help, my team can take care of all this for you. Get in touch here.

-Jesus

Have a tech question? Get an answer from Jesus + get featured in an upcoming issue!

Jesus Vargas is the owner of LowCode Agency, a badass software development agency that builds custom apps twice as fast, and for half the cost, of traditional software developers. Each week, Jesus answers your tech questions. His sponsorship of Drunk Business Advice keeps this content free. 🙏 

The whole is greater than the sum of its parts

Y’all — my mother has 13 siblings.

I’ll give you a moment to process that.

None are adopted. It isn’t a blended family. It’s simply the product of two remarkable humans whose love and patience knew no bounds.

My grandmother had been an only child, and really wanted a large family. My grandfather adored her, and wanted her to have everything she ever dreamed of.

So the babies just kept… arriving. 🍼

Alas, the total count clocked in at 14, with 19 years separating the oldest from the  youngest.

And sliding in at number five was Katy — my mom. ♥️

If you met Katy, you could probably guess that she comes from a big family. (No one ever guesses quite how big, because let’s face it, it’s insane.)

But why do people assume that?

Here’s my theory—

When you share your childhood with seven sisters and six brothers, all living under one roof (with only 3 bathrooms), and all vying for the attention of two parents, you understand collectivism at the molecular level. 

Kindness, fairness, and camaraderie just oozes out like a friendly aura of unicorn glitter that immediately puts people at ease. It’s wildly disarming.

And it’s what drove Katy’s career forward at every turn.

The bright lights of Broadway Opryland

All Katy ever wanted to do was perform. 🎭

Her mother (who aside from rearing 14 children, also found time to play piano, tap dance, and earn a Masters degree in French), instilled a deep appreciation for the arts in all of her children.

But unlike her siblings, who dove headfirst into academia, Katy was crazy enough to crave a career on Broadway—

Which is a pretty outlandish dream for a small-town Tennessee kid.

Then in 1972, two things happened:

1. Katy graduated from high school

2. Opryland opened in Nashville

For all my post-Y2K readers out there who have no clue what I’m talking about—

Opryland was a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment in show business history that launched the careers of a diverse range of performers, including:

• Movie star, Cynthia Rhodes 🎬

• Broadway star, Kristin Chenoweth 🎭

• And country music star, Ty Herndon 🎤

Open from 1972-1997, Opryland was a unique theme park that paired stomach-dropping roller coasters with the most spectacular musical productions in the industry. 

It was often referred to as a “finishing school for entertainers.” It combined more intense show schedules, technical stagecraft, and musical versatility than any other job in the biz.

And Katy was dying to be a part of it. 

The summer Opryland opened, she visited the park, and saw Opryland’s headline show, I Hear America Singing.

As the curtain dropped, Katy turned to her date and boldly predicted “I will be in that show.” A short time later, she confidently marched into an audition, and…

Wasn’t cast. 🤦

Katy was crushed. But since she had been rejected from the “finishing school for entertainers”, she decided to give a good ol’ fashioned college education a try.

That didn’t last long. Encouraged by her singing teacher, she yanked up her britches and auditioned for Opryland again the following season. This time, she was asked to join the cast.

And not just any cast–

She was given one of the leading roles in I Hear America Singing, which had just been awarded the best theme park show in the country.

Katy was only 19 years old. 

New York, here she comes

Katy was wrapping up her second season at Opryland when she received a strange phone call from a man she had never met.

“How soon can you get to Florida?”, said the man on the other line.

Um. What?

Apparently, two of her former Opryland cast mates had signed on for a winter contract at the Musicana Dinner Theater in Florida. When someone dropped out at the last minute, they immediately recommended Katy to the producer.

And since there was no time for an audition, those cast mates personally guaranteed that Katy would exceed the producer’s expectations — putting their own careers on the line if she flopped.

But their faith in their friend earned Katy more than just a contract. While performing at Musicana, Katy quickly earned the trust of many others in the cast, becoming instant friends with them—

One of whom shockingly nabbed a two-bedroom (illegal) sublet in Manhattan from a Columbia University professor — for $250/month. 🤯

And guess who she invited to join her in New York? 👇

I don’t have to tell you that it’s brutally arduous to achieve even minor success in show business, and those who leave their small town and actually make it on Broadway usually share one, if not both, of the following traits:

1. They’re egomaniacs who won’t take “no” for an answer.

2. They’ve got Streisand-level talent.

❌ Katy had neither of these traits.

Instead, she possessed a skill so unique, so unheard of, that it’s rarely discussed in the hallowed casting halls.

Katy was a genuinely delightful person, who was genuinely delightful to work with. She made friends with everyone. She supported her cast mates. She was easy to direct. She showed up on time, worked hard, and didn’t complain.

Katy got her big opportunity to move to New York because she was nice to people. Imagine that. 🤷

Living the dream

Katy moved to Manhattan in the mid 70s, and for a decade, earned a great living as a performer.

From major hits like Annie and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (which are clearly two wildly different shows), to an embarrassing flop titled Nobody Starts Out To Be A Pirate (sponsored by Captain Morgan), Katy always found consistent work.

Sure, she rolled into her fair share of cattle calls, and some of those auditions worked out for her, but most of her major career-defining jobs came from the pals she made along the way.

Perhaps the most serendipitous of all those buddy-connections was the surprising phone call that caused her to lock up her Manhattan apartment, pack her bags, and set sail on a cruise ship. 🚢

Katy was a cruise ship producer’s dream. She was:

• Accustomed to tight spaces and communal bathrooms

• Easy to both work with and live with, which is critical on a ship

• And steadfastly reliable

Katy found herself in high-demand, traveling all over the world. By day, she was exploring the Egyptian pyramids, wandering the streets of Athens, or betting her salary at Casino de Monte-Carlo.

By night, she was doing her thing. 👇

And boy am I glad that she took her chances on the high seas. 😌

Otherwise, she would have never met a dashing young Cruise Director in Alaska, gotten married, and well… brought me into the world.

This shit is crazy to think about…

I literally wouldn’t exist if my mother wasn’t:

👉 So wonderful to work with at Opryland that she was offered a job (without auditioning) at Musicana.

👉 So wonderful to work with at Musicana that she was offered shockingly cheap apartment in NYC.

👉 So wonderful to work with in NYC that she was offered a job on cruise ships, where she met the love of her life, with whom she’ll celebrate 40 years of marriage this year. ♥️

So the next time you find yourself prioritizing your work at the expense of your work relationships, consider whether that’s really the right call.

In Katy’s case, her brilliant show biz career, 40-years of marriage, two successful kids, and precious grandchildren, are all the result of virtues that come with growing up in a household of 16 people—

Kindness. Fairness. And putting the needs of others before your own.

That stuff makes her a pretty damn good mom, too. 😘

Cheers! 🍻

-Kristin :-)

P.S. — I was so honored to be featured in one of my favorite newsletters this week by the brilliant Chenell Basilio! Go check it out and subscribe!

And don’t forget, this newsletter is FREE because of Jesus Vargas, and his team at LowCode Agency — so show ‘em some love!

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Whether you need help building an MVP, creating software to run your business, or even just a badass website, I highly recommend the savvy team over at LowCode!