143: Starting Your Own Business after 20 Years in the Corporate World | Gail Davis of GDA Speakers

Background on Gail Davis of GDA Speakers:

Gail Davis is the Founder and President of GDA Speakers. Under her passionate leadership, GDA Speakers has vetted and curated a number of highly qualified speakers who they trust and deliver with confidence. In the first 17 years, they assembled a database of over 5,000 speakers. Then in order to add more value to their clients they cut the list in half. Only featuring and working with the top speakers in each of the many categories sought by their clients.

Her successful business approach and passion have also impacted the industry. Previously, she has served as president and convention chair of the International Association of Speakers Bureaus (IASB); her company has also been honored with numerous awards from that organization.

Davis is a member of the Entrepreneur Organization. She is also a supporter of numerous community organizations. She was named to the University of Oklahoma Gaylord College Board of Visitors in 2014. She served as co-chair of the highly successful 2014 Soup’s On! Luncheon, which is the major fundraising force of The Stewpot Alliance benefiting the programs of The Stewpot in Dallas. In 2011, the Dallas Business Journal honored her as one of Dallas’ Top 25 Women in Business.

Time-Stamped Show Notes:

[1:23] Gail Davis is the founder of GDA Speakers, which is a full service speakers bureau that books speakers for large corporate events.
[2:11] The company started with one speaker in 1999, and today it has 13 employees with over 4,000 speakers.
[5:28] After college, Gail worked at EDS (Electronic Data Systems), which is a company founded by Ross Perot.
[6:26] Gail tells a very interesting story of how she was able to meet her first speaker.
[12:55] In 1999, she decided to leave EDS. She also considers it a good time to start her own company.
[14:47] At first, she had her office at home, but then as business picked up she moved to an office one mile from her home. As the business grew, she was convinced by her kids to move the company to Dallas.
[18:54] 9-11 was a memorable date for Gail because her speaker had to go to this event in St. Louis.
[24:25] Gail made two decisions that really pushed and re-energized her company to the next level. The first one was being a part of the industry association.
[25:53] According to Gail, joining the industry association was very helpful for her business.
[27:55] Joining the EO or the Entrepreneur Organization is the second decision that moved her business in the right direction.
[32:59] Gail invested in a back office software program that she thinks is critical in the rapid scaling of her business.
[37:38] She learned the importance of having an effective hiring process and create a more balanced sales team.
[46:44] Focusing on their core values or practice values was important in creating the culture within the company. Gail hired the business coach to work on the company’s practice values.
[52:39] Gail provides some last words of wisdom to the listeners. She emphasizes on the openness of the person and being open to so many ideas.

This Episode Sponsored By:

[9:34] Capterra is the leading FREE online resource to help you find the best software solution for your business. With over 850,000 reviews of products from real users, discover everything you need to make an informed decision. Join the millions of people who use Capterra each month to find the right tools for their business. To support the show, use our link: millionaire-interviews.com/capterra.
[11:07] Gusto is making Payroll, Benefits, and HR easier for small businesses. In fact, 9 out of 10 customers say Gusto is easier to use than other payroll solutions. Gusto also saves you time – 72% of customers spend less than 5 minutes to run payroll. They are offering our audience a Limited Time Deal of 3 Months FREE Payroll by using our link: millionaire-interviews.com/gusto.
[34:13] BetterHelp Online Counseling helps you connect with professional counselors in a safe and private online environment. And you can get help on your own time and at your own pace. You can schedule secure video or phone sessions, plus chat and text, with your online therapist. BetterHelp is available worldwide, with over 3,000 USA licensed therapist that you can talk with about any issues, and anything you share is confidential. Millionaire-Interview listeners can get 10% off on their first month with discount code: millionaire. Go to millionaire-interviews.com/betterhelp.

Fabulous 4 Questions:

📖 📚 Favorite Book(s)? The Prophet by Kahil Gibran, Walk to Beautiful by Jimmy Wayne, The Lost Years by Kristina Wandzilak and Constance Curry, Miracle in the Andes by Nando Parrado
🙌😎 Favorite Amazon.com purchase? My Yunmai Premium Smart Scale. I weigh daily and send to my nutritionist. I LOVE the accountability
🌱💸 Favorite Tool that's GROWN your Business? Our custom software that manages speaker data, proposal, contracts. It is LIFE CHANGING
💭💡 BIGGEST Challenge keeping your Business from GROWING? My conservative nature. Good and Bad. I have been cautious. My financials are solid. Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if I had been a little riskier.

Key Point from the Interview:

“I personally have benefited greatly from having an outside business coach. This is a decision that I made 2 and a half years ago.”

Resources Mentioned:

SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST

Want More? Join Our Membership on Patreon!

Share77

77 Shares