Speaker - December 2007

I wouldn’t have done
my clients any favors
by showing up sleep-
deprived, eyes like
sunken licorice dots
with the charisma of
Ben Stein on quaaludes.

REINVENTION

Necessity is the mother of invention. And so it goes for speakers who find themselves suffering from health issues, or caring for someone else, often a parent, or even more difficult—a spouse or child. The emotional strain zaps us of the energy to be creative and to give our clients what they need. But often, the very crisis we are in is the genesis to reinvent ourselves or to create new products. Even under the direst circumstances, most of our personalities require us to do something!

We are not an idle bunch.

Plus, oh yeah, the money thing. That’s a motivator!

From Katrina to earthquakes to bridges collapsing, we never truly know what our futures holds, even if we do have stellar business plans. Books, paintings, products of all shapes and sizes are often developed because something didn’t work out, a plan went wrong, a loved one got sick. Or we, ourselves, got sick.

And sometimes, new ventures turn out to be very cool.

David McNally, CPAE, is a successful speaker and author. If you didn’t know his history, you would never guess the pain he suffered when his wife, Jo, died.

“In the short term you need to realize that the things that resonated and were meaningful and fulfilling, probably won’t be there. There will be a vacuum of motivation and you must accept that reality. You begin to live your life one moment at a time and understand that what you went through is now part of your story. Caring for the sick and dying dramatically affects a person, and his business.”

David did not have the energy or motivation to market his business while his wife was sick; luckily he had an enormous amount of brand equity and was able to live off goodwill. For a while. But then the phone stopped ringing, which forced him to ask, “What is my current reality?”

An interesting film project came out of David’s pain and self reflection: If I Were Brave, about the National Amputee Golf Association tournament held at the famous Hazeltine National Golf Club in Minnesota. Working on the film made him realize the fundamental things that happen when you go through a tragedy or crisis. David found a way to share what had happened and put a twist on it. He dedicated the film to his wife.

“If you’ve done the right things in your business all along, when a tragedy strikes, you weather the storm,” says David, who stresses the importance of self-manage-ment and the need to understand your timeframe. “It’s yours and nobody else’s. And while being pragmatic, it is a time to be very kind to yourself. It’s a very important thing to do.”

BY CHOICE

Mandi Stanley was married for 11 years before becoming pregnant. She had a well-established speaking career and didn’t want it to tank when she stayed home for her son’s first year. She wanted to take time off, by choice.

“I had to focus on three things: What I booked, what I delivered and what I collected,” Mandi explains. “Through this process I kept bookings at the same rate and planned for collections to be down a bit. Delivery was down [except for the baby, now that’s delivery!] but the bookings remained on target.”

In 2007, Mandi was expecting again. She planned for it by showcasing, getting referrals and keeping in touch with bureaus. When people called for a date she couldn’t do, she became a valuable resource and referred other speakers. Her “Hair-On-Fire!” presentations are completely booked in 2008.