Here’s What happened in Vegas, My 3 Business Lessons from Sin City.

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Wayfair Every Style, Every Home I just asked her manager one simple question. Why did this have to be so hard? But let's talk about you. I'm sure you're going to have to ask yourself that same question in the very near future. Maybe it's in regards to a client taking forever to pay or being disrespected during a meeting you're going to want to give up. Don't. Instead, fiercely advocate for yourself and demand the respect you rightfully deserve. So the first lesson I learned was advocate for yourself. This is the Launch youh Business podcast because we know starting a business is challenging, but it doesn't have to be confusing. Each week we'll give you the tactical advice and the necessary tools to scale your business without feeling burnt out. I'm Terry Rice, business development consultant and Staff writer here at Entrepreneur magazine. Let's dive in. I recently spoke at a Berkshire Hathaway conference in Las Vegas, which is very prestigious. So the first thought you might have is, well, how'd you even get this gig? I'll get to that in a moment. But really, what's most important is what I learned from it, and I'm gonna share those lessons. And if you listen, it's gonna help you build your business on your own terms. But I'll go back to the question you might be asking again. How did you get this gig speaking at this prestigious event? It actually came from me being on a podcast called Organized Chaos, which is hosted by Chris Ronzio, and they actually found me because of my LinkedIn content. His producer saw it. I had good content brought me on the show. Now, to be honest, I thought I totally bombed on that show. I thought I was messing up, couldn't remember my points. I just thought I was mumbling the whole time. Like, I didn't think it went well at all, to the point where I've actually never listened to that podcast. So if you have listened to it and went well, please do let me know. But one of the organizers from the Berkshire Hathaway conference heard me, thought it did a great job, and that's how I got on the stage. So, as mentioned, this conference took place in Vegas. And honestly, I'm not the biggest fan of Vegas since I'm married, I don't drink, and I don't gamble, so it's not quite the adult playground I'm looking for. However, I had a very pleasant surprise once I got to the airport in Vegas. I ran into a good friend of mine from college, Ann Mer. And I haven't seen her in, like, 10 years. So we caught up for a few minutes before parting ways, and then I hopped in a lift en route to my hotel. Little did I know I was about to learn my first lesson in Vegas, you need to advocate for yourself. While attempting to check in, I was told my hotel room was no longer available. Why? Well, my hotel room was booked by the event organizer from March 26th to March 29th. I'm giving you the dates because it's relevant here. I arrived on March 27, so they gave my room away. The front desk agent then told me that the hotel was completely booked, but the Horseshoe Hotel might have rooms available. First of all, I've never heard of the Horseshoe Hotel. I've never stayed there on purpose, and I'm damn sure not going to walk around Las Vegas at midnight trying to score a room there, especially when one was already booked for me. So you know how it goes, right? I asked to speak to her manager about it. She said I couldn't, but she would for me. Two minutes later, she came back to me with the same response. There are no rooms available. Try the Horseshoe. I then told her that still was not acceptable. I'm not the one who booked the room, and I'm not the one who canceled it. So I shouldn't be the one walking around Vegas at midnight trying to find a hotel room. I will share part of the exchange, though. I asked the simple question, well, when do you give away rooms? And she said, after midnight, we give away rooms that are unoccupied. And I said, well, it's unoccupied right now, so can I just have a room that someone else didn't show up for? That did not work as well as I thought it would have. And look, I'm going to fast forward a bit. She went back and forth between me and her manager for about 10 minutes, and all of a sudden, her manager found this hotel room that was open for me. Was I annoyed? Yeah. But the situation was resolved. And venting wouldn't help much. I mean, the most they would give me is like a free night stay at a hotel I never want to go back to again in the first place. So I just wanted to move on. Instead, I just asked her manager one simple question. Why did this have to be so hard? Let's talk about you. I'm sure you're going to have to ask yourself that same question in the very near future. Maybe it's in regards to a client taking forever to pay or being disrespected during a meeting you're going to want to give up. Don't. Instead, fiercely advocate for yourself and demand the respect you rightfully deserve. So the first lesson I learned was advocate for yourself. Next lesson, be yourself. And I'll tell you more backstory here. My friend Kim Ritberg was speaking at the same conference. She got in earlier that day and recorded a quick video from the event. I watched it as I was unpacking at the hotel. The video was great, but here's what stood out to me. All the guys were wearing blazers. Most were wearing suits. I was planning on wearing sneakers and these built pants that kind of look like slacks, but they're very comfortable. And a hoodie. But once I saw all the guys in suits, I started second guessing myself. I was actually tempted to rush out and see if I could buy something that would help me fit in more. I even thought to myself, you know what? A lot of people unexpectedly get married in Vegas. There might be somewhere I can buy a suit in the middle of the night. And if you're following along, the answer is yes. That same guy, me, who would not look for a hotel room at midnight, suddenly felt compelled to go shopping at 1am but then it hit me. These people all pay to see me on stage. I'm a keynote speaker. I deserve to be here. And I can't deliver the best experience if I'm not comfortable. Back to you. There will be times when you feel like you have to change who you are to fit in. Maybe it's the way you dress, do your hair, or how you talk. You're going to be tempted to conform. Don't. The best version of yourself is all you need to be. But you can't do that if you're pretending to be someone else at the same time. And here's the last lesson I learned. Challenge yourself. After my presentation, this guy in a really nice suit walked over to me. He kind of looked like the type of guy that would complain about the size of the ice cubes at a fancy restaurant, like, you know who I'm talking about. However, I was immediately disarmed by what he said. He said, hey, nice shoes. I need to start wearing sneakers too. These events are great, but my shoes are so uncomfortable. I sometimes skip sessions because I don't want to walk that far. So that really shocked me and made me feel more comfortable. But I gotta pause now to acknowledge my hypocrisy. I didn't want people to judge me based on how I looked, but I still judged others based on how they looked. So I'm clearly a work in progress here. But back to this incredibly friendly guy in a nice suit. He then told me how much he appreciated the session I led and was looking forward to sharing the key takeaways with his team. Now, normally, I would have just said something along the lines of, oh, that's so great to hear. I'm glad you found value in my session. But then I thought to myself, now is the perfect opportunity to pitch my LinkedIn training program. Just bring it up and see what happens. I pitched him, and he only had one. Can you lead it remotely? That's it. No questions about costs, references, none of that. I already proved my worth on stage, and he was ready for more. Your turn. At times, you'll be afraid to pitch a prospect or a partnership opportunity. Do not let that hold you back. If you ask, the answer will be yes or no. But if you don't ask, the answer will definitely be no. Alright, so that's my story from Vegas. Probably not what you're expecting, but again, I am married, I don't drink and I don't gamble. But to reiterate, super important to do these three things advocate for yourself, be yourself and challenge yourself. Thanks for listening and I'll catch up with you next time. Apply what you've learned on today's show. You'll find the show notes and more resources at TerryRice Co Podcast. Again, that's TerryRice Co Podcast and the best way to support this podcast is by subscribing, telling a friend and leaving a review. Also, you can get more tips by following me on Instagram @TerryRice or follow me on LinkedIn. This episode was produced by Josh Wilcox of Brooklyn Podcasting Studio and edited by Dan Lardy. Special thanks to my wife Dominique for keeping our kids relatively quiet as I recorded. Thanks again for listening. I'll see you next time.