MAM Family: Justina Settles
About a year and a half ago MAM's fearless leader, Nan Wilson, made one of her smartest moves yet: she brought on small business whiz Justina Settles to take over financial management at MAM.
Since then, MAM has doubled it's business while maintaining its commitment to stay small and personal. And MAM's forecast to double again in 2014.
Justina says one of the keys to helping MAM grow stronger was to look at how to make its growth more predictable. And that meant shifting the company's financial mindset from monthly to quarterly cycles, since music royalty funds land in MAM's mailbox on a quarterly basis thanks to artists' PRO distributions.
"Being able to provide Nan that reassurance and peace of mind has been essential in building the business," says Justina. The predictability provided by Justina's financial modeling and forecasting gave Nan the peace of mind to relax and focus on building client relationships.
When not whipping up financial reports and sorting through quarterly distributions, Justina enjoys reading non-fiction books and traveling with her husband and two children. Their favorite mode of travel? Sailboat. Her family's dream? To sail the world.
“I love the feeling of being out there on the water, catching the wind," says Justina. "There's nothing more relaxing."
"It's like working with Nan," Justina laughs. "Nan listens for everyone living the life of their dreams; she's so passionate that clients' lives be fulfilled. Being paid is part of that dream."
Which brings us to Justina's professional dream: to work from 'the middle of the ocean.' She says Nan's a big fan of the idea.
"It's all connected and essential," Justina explains. "It's about everyone living the life they've always wanted: clients, employees, contractors. We're all the same human beings working together and fulfilling our dreams."