Episode
From Agency Owner To "What Do I Even Do Now?" | with Kalika Sharma
- Podcast
- The Zack Arnold Podcast
- Published
- Nov 19, 2025
- Duration seconds
- 3825
- Processing state
not_requested- Canonical source
- https://zackarnold.com/podcast
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Summary
What does it really feel like to move through the messy middle of a creative career? In this episode, I talk with Kalika Sharma, founder and creative director of Antidote FX, a woman-led animation and design studio whose work spans clients like Netflix, Carnegie Hall, and Marriott Bonvoy. We step away from polished success stories to talk about the very human side of creative transitions—losing work, shifting identity, and managing life when everything feels uncertain. Kalika shares honest insights on resilience, balancing multiple roles, and finding your footing when the ground keeps shifting beneath you. Key Takeaways Adopt a “help one” identity that transcends job titles. In times of career uncertainty, grounding yourself in how you genuinely help others with your skills and passions restores purpose beyond credits or industry status. Normalize the “messy middle” and stop isolating yourself. Feelings of overwhelm, imposter syndrome, and career grief are shared experiences, not personal failures, especially in uncertain industry conditions. Play the long game with persistent, strategic outreach. Even when responses are few, consistently showing up and sharing your value builds relationships that compound over time. Episode Highlights Discover the power of persistence and creative pivots in the journey to purpose through passion and resilience Navigate the messy middle of leading a team when the work starts to dry up Find strength in stories of resilience when parenting, caregiving, and career collide Understand why grief over shifting roles and careers is as real as any other loss Face the truth of freelancing when projects stop landing in your lap Embrace the comfort of knowing you’re not alone in the struggle Turn your asymmetric advantage into purpose-driven creat…