Building a High-End Virtual Business with Margaret Skoglund – 041

Broadway meets business meets one smart lady! Enter Margaret Skoglund. Say that last name 13 times fast!

Margaret leveraged her experience in Broadway, pivoted during Covid, and created Virtual Broadway, a super cool business. She’s awesome!

Our podcasts are interviews between Justin Krane, Krane Financial Solution’s President, and various professionals, one or more of which are or have been Krane Financial Solutions clients. However, nothing stated within the podcasts should be considered a testimonial or endorsement of Krane Financial Solutions or Justin Krane, and the professionals have not been directly or indirectly compensated for being interviewed.

Our podcasts are interviews between Justin Krane, Krane Financial Solution’s President and various third-party professionals. Noting stated within the podcasts should be considered a testimonial or endorsement of Krane Financial Solutions or Justin Krane, and the professionals have not been directly or indirectly compensated for being interviewed.

Margaret Skoglund is General Manager and Chief Operating Officer at KGM. Select past management experience includes What the Constitution Means to Me, Mamma Mia!, Once On This Island, Gettin’ the Band Back Together, and Side Show on Broadway as well as The Lion King and Newsies First National Tours. A proud Duke University alumna, she served on the Alumni Association Board of Directors after managing the basketball team for four years as a student. In New York City, Margaret volunteers for iMentor and is the Executive Director of Open Stage Project, a non-profit she launched with other female-identifying Broadway professionals to expose high school women from underserved communities to backstage jobs. Member of the Association of Theatrical Press Agents and Managers (ATPAM).

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Virtual Broadway

Margaret created a new business model during the Covid-19 pandemic to assist Broadway workers who lost their income stream due to the shutdown. She connects those Broadway talents with large companies to provide custom corporate engagement experiences.
Currently the business is very project-based and does not have much recurring revenue. Margaret feels she could successfully scale the business, but at this time prefers remaining a high-end service that is customizable for the client.
Margaret is confident the business will continue to grow even after Broadway reopens because her clients enjoy the service, and Broadway performers do not sign a non-compete and can participate in her company while still working full-time in a show.

How Margaret learned to build a business and create income

Margaret’s mother was in sales her entire life, which made an impression on her and showed her how to be a good businesswoman. She stressed that she learned the importance of authenticity from watching her mother work.
She learned early on that working with touring shows is a great way to make income, which is how she famously paid off her student loans so quickly.
Margaret details the importance of clarity in making financial decisions, knowing what your needs are, and learning as much as you can on your own about how to meet those needs before working with a professional money manager.
Being a New Yorker during 9/11 (although she wasn’t in the city at the time) changed her view on living in the moment and planning for a future, both personally and financially.
Margaret’s best advice to new business owners is to network, and not just with people in your industry, but as large a variety of people and industries as you can.

Best Quotes:

“One of the thrills of running your own business and one of the benefits of working on a smaller scale is autonomy. So we’ve really, really valued representation. Let’s hold ourselves accountable. Where’s our money actually going? Are we actually thinking about different races, different abilities, different genders, different ages. And we’ve really prided ourselves on making it a collaborative, open, virtual workspace.”

“I am incredibly passionate about financial literacy. So you are speaking to something that is very close to my heart. I think clarity is absolutely vital. I happen to be someone who thinks if you don’t know what an index fund is, if you don’t know what a stock is, if you don’t know what a put option is, that’s okay, but go learn what that is first and then go on Robin hood and then go try to beat the market.”

“My advice for business owners needing to reinvent themselves is to utilize your network. It is all about networking and all about cross-pollination.”