Title: Owner, Senior Agent

Company: Argent Talent Management

Location: Vancouver, BC

Initially, Michelle Tea Buechner became involved in her profession because her mother was an actress, so she grew up knowing the mentality of an actor. With that in mind, talent management seemed like a natural fit for her. Ms. Buechner is separated from her peers by her character flaws; she believes that they help her and are more useful than her good traits. She is very stubborn and doesn’t like being told ‘no.’ With an arrogant tendency, she really believes she knows who possesses talent and that has been proven outright, even with those who have more experience.

For someone going into the talent management industry, she urges that they don’t take on the responsibility of what the actor should be responsible for. ‘Value yourself because you don’t get paid on your ability, efforts and success, but based on someone else’s. You must know you are doing a great job even if you don’t get paid for it, because you are being paid on others’ talent,’ she says. Ms. Buechner’s advice to young women entering the industry is: ‘Don’t get sucked into the easy route; stay honest. That has more long-term benefits than spin doctoring and making things up.’ For young women entering the industry, Ms. Buechner advises, ‘Get yourself some tough skin. Understand that you have to prove yourself more than men. Don’t resent it; just accept it. Have the ‘I can’ attitude.’

In five years, Ms. Buechner hopes to become a professional screenwriter and take on writing work on the side. She is also open to the possibility of opening a new branch of her main business.