Headhunter to the Stars Radio Interview
Celebrity recruiter, Brian Daniel, gives an in-depth interview about how he got started assisting others. Inspired by meeting his first billionaire at 17 years old, Brian eventually went on to working for some of the most recognized names on Earth, like working for the Saudi Royal Family (see photos and videos HERE).
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What it's like to work for a celebrity
VIDEO TRANSCRIPT
PART 1
Hey, it's your pal, Dev. Thank you so much for tuning in. Now, I know that at one point in your life, you probably wanted to be a celebrity you're fascinated by the lifestyle of these beautiful and rich people. Well, today's guest is former celebrity personal assistant, Brian Daniel and let me tell you something. He knows a thing or two about working with A-list celebrities, billionaire's or even royalty. He is now a staffing consultant and career coach and also author of Dream Careers: The Tutorial for finding Elite personal Assistant Jobs.
Brian, thank you so much for your time. And right off the bat. I'm curious, were you always fascinated by celebrities growing up? It's a very interesting story because back in the late 80s. I was an assistant a part-time assistant to someone who installed high-tech equipment in cars. So back then mobile phones were in their infancy and people are walking around, carrying them in briefcases, basically. And that was at the time when people were also putting those high-tech stereos in their car. Aftermarket stereos like Alpine and Blaupunkt. So one day I go to work and my boss says to me we're going to billionaire Jack Kent Cooke's house to install a phone in his limousine.
Jack Kent Cooke is dead now, but at the time he owned like half of LA and New York, he owned three sports teams, and this was right around the time when the Washington Redskins went the Super Bowl. So we went in his ranch, and it was just like you expect in a movie like Daddy Warbucks from the Annie movie. He had a huge entourage of people around him, and we were working his limousine. and then he jumped into the car and said we have to go right now. We are in the middle of installing this used mobile phone, and it's used limousine, because he was very thrifty like a lot of billionaires are.
It's just such a wild experience and I always became really fascinated. And then when I eventually moved to Los Angeles later in my life after I graduated from high school. My first personal assistant job on the west coast was working for a member of the Johnson & Johnson family. So that sowed the seeds, so speak and things grew from there. Wow. Okay. So you were talking about how he had a big posse and stuff... How many people usually work for for these celebrities on average because we know what celebrity is is a person but it's a business.
So how many people work around one person usually, or for that one person would say? That is a terrific question. And I have a terrific answer for you. And the answer is it varies wildly. Now, some billionaires like Warren Buffett, for example, he's not my client. But people like Warren Buffett are incredibly conservative. They travel very low-key, and other billionaires like to have a flashy style, and then they have huge a posse with them. So there really is no rhyme or reason to it. It depends on how flashy the person wants to be and how high their profile is.
So, CEOs and celebrities are almost one in the same because sometimes you'll see these huge a-list stars -- sometimes they will be by themselves or they will only have one person with them, perhaps their assistant. And then sometimes they are walking around with 20 people. So, it really depends, that's the best answer I can give you. So, I guess the question should be, how many do they need? That is another great question? So, it all depends on how high their profile is. Now what you would expect if you're working for a very high-profile a-list Hollywood celebrity or celebrity CEO...
You're definitely going to be traveling around with a head assistant and several subordinate assistants.
And then if they have their kids with them, you might have nannies, and depending on what's happening that day, you know, you might have lawyers with you and a publicity agent. So, I've been in situations where I was the only personal assistant in the entourage and I've also been in situations where there were fifteen people with us, so it does vary wildly. And which one do you prefer? Would you rather be alone, or do you like it when there's a lot of people around the celebrity? Honestly, in my older age, I do prefer the low-key PA jobs at this point in my career. When I was much younger, I have to admit, flying around on private jets and being in the big entourages was pretty exciting, but there's a trade to that because when you're in those sorts of glamourous situations, you know, you're going to be up all night.
Your boss might keep you up for 2:00 in the morning because if you were at a nightclub with them, but then he can sleep late. But I would have to get up at the wee hours in the morning because my phone started ringing and I had to start his day up for whatever we're going to be doing, and I had to keep my appointments. So yeah, I like the low-key personal assistant jobs better now, honestly. So, you talk about private jets and all that kind of stuff... just to give us an idea who were some of the people that you've worked with?
PART 1
Hey, it's your pal, Dev. Thank you so much for tuning in. Now, I know that at one point in your life, you probably wanted to be a celebrity you're fascinated by the lifestyle of these beautiful and rich people. Well, today's guest is former celebrity personal assistant, Brian Daniel and let me tell you something. He knows a thing or two about working with A-list celebrities, billionaire's or even royalty. He is now a staffing consultant and career coach and also author of Dream Careers: The Tutorial for finding Elite personal Assistant Jobs.
Brian, thank you so much for your time. And right off the bat. I'm curious, were you always fascinated by celebrities growing up? It's a very interesting story because back in the late 80s. I was an assistant a part-time assistant to someone who installed high-tech equipment in cars. So back then mobile phones were in their infancy and people are walking around, carrying them in briefcases, basically. And that was at the time when people were also putting those high-tech stereos in their car. Aftermarket stereos like Alpine and Blaupunkt. So one day I go to work and my boss says to me we're going to billionaire Jack Kent Cooke's house to install a phone in his limousine.
Jack Kent Cooke is dead now, but at the time he owned like half of LA and New York, he owned three sports teams, and this was right around the time when the Washington Redskins went the Super Bowl. So we went in his ranch, and it was just like you expect in a movie like Daddy Warbucks from the Annie movie. He had a huge entourage of people around him, and we were working his limousine. and then he jumped into the car and said we have to go right now. We are in the middle of installing this used mobile phone, and it's used limousine, because he was very thrifty like a lot of billionaires are.
It's just such a wild experience and I always became really fascinated. And then when I eventually moved to Los Angeles later in my life after I graduated from high school. My first personal assistant job on the west coast was working for a member of the Johnson & Johnson family. So that sowed the seeds, so speak and things grew from there. Wow. Okay. So you were talking about how he had a big posse and stuff... How many people usually work for for these celebrities on average because we know what celebrity is is a person but it's a business.
So how many people work around one person usually, or for that one person would say? That is a terrific question. And I have a terrific answer for you. And the answer is it varies wildly. Now, some billionaires like Warren Buffett, for example, he's not my client. But people like Warren Buffett are incredibly conservative. They travel very low-key, and other billionaires like to have a flashy style, and then they have huge a posse with them. So there really is no rhyme or reason to it. It depends on how flashy the person wants to be and how high their profile is.
So, CEOs and celebrities are almost one in the same because sometimes you'll see these huge a-list stars -- sometimes they will be by themselves or they will only have one person with them, perhaps their assistant. And then sometimes they are walking around with 20 people. So, it really depends, that's the best answer I can give you. So, I guess the question should be, how many do they need? That is another great question? So, it all depends on how high their profile is. Now what you would expect if you're working for a very high-profile a-list Hollywood celebrity or celebrity CEO...
You're definitely going to be traveling around with a head assistant and several subordinate assistants.
And then if they have their kids with them, you might have nannies, and depending on what's happening that day, you know, you might have lawyers with you and a publicity agent. So, I've been in situations where I was the only personal assistant in the entourage and I've also been in situations where there were fifteen people with us, so it does vary wildly. And which one do you prefer? Would you rather be alone, or do you like it when there's a lot of people around the celebrity? Honestly, in my older age, I do prefer the low-key PA jobs at this point in my career. When I was much younger, I have to admit, flying around on private jets and being in the big entourages was pretty exciting, but there's a trade to that because when you're in those sorts of glamourous situations, you know, you're going to be up all night.
Your boss might keep you up for 2:00 in the morning because if you were at a nightclub with them, but then he can sleep late. But I would have to get up at the wee hours in the morning because my phone started ringing and I had to start his day up for whatever we're going to be doing, and I had to keep my appointments. So yeah, I like the low-key personal assistant jobs better now, honestly. So, you talk about private jets and all that kind of stuff... just to give us an idea who were some of the people that you've worked with?
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