By: Dennis Schiraldi

So maybe I’m feeling a little nostalgic on a Throw Back Thursday or the fact that I’m excited to hear that TEDx Youngstown is coming back in 2018.

I thought I’d share with you my TEDx Youngstown experience.

In 2014, I was a presenter, chosen to give an 8-minute talk at the inaugural TEDx Youngstown. The title of my talk: The 3P’s of Innovation.

Although I’m very naturally comfortable with speaking in public. I was a total wreck was extremely nervous. Maybe it’s due to the fact that in my 4-person group, was a world-class cello player, Congressman Tim Ryan, Adam Earnheardt Ph.D. and Chair of Communications at Youngstown State University and me.

A few years ago I had 3-goals in life and for the most part, they’ve all stayed the same.

1. Never have to go under anesthesia.
2. Never have to ask anyone for a day off of work the rest of my life.
3. Deliver a TED Talk.

Which probably why my nerves got the best of me…I digress.

If you think about the first goal, it’s really simple. If you have your health, able of body and mind. You can go out a work to accomplish anything you want.

However, if you don’t have your health, there are limitations. Avoiding surgery, generally implies that you’ve avoided any major health issues.

As for the day off work thing…Here’s what is odd. I probably have not taken a day off work since 2006.

Literally, I think it’s been a little over a decade, that I’ve gone 24-hours without taking a meeting, returning an email, posting something on social media, making a phone call…You get the point.

However, I have been fortunate to do it all on my terms. I’ve really not had to go to anyone and say, “I’d like to have the week of the 10th off, I’m taking my family on vacation.”

Even when I’ve been employed, I would tell people I worked with I was taking the vacation. They would tell me I need to ask…

My response, “did I need to ask permission when I worked late or traveled and was away from my family?”

If not for being a top producer I would have been fired from many of jobs.

The last of the 3-goals has changed because I was able to deliver my TED Talk at TEDx Youngstown in 2014.

It was a really amazing experience, one that still sticks with me today, I’m grateful for the relationships I made that day.

I made friends with The Lettuce People, Tom and Katie Phibbs. Tim Ryan is now on a first name basis because of this event and we share a common bond, as I do with many of the people that the first year. Mike Kovach of Walnut Hill Farms and many others.

Adam Earnheardt and I stayed in contact which lead to him inviting me to live another lifelong goal. Become a college professor. As a direct result of TEDx Youngstown, Adam and I became friends. Which led him to ask me to be an instructor for a couple of courses at YSU on social media. That was literally a 20-year journey. In addition, I talked to Adam about DOYO Live.

I’ve said this many times publically, TEDx Youngstown is one of several factors that gave me the inspiration to move forward with DOYO Live.

My good friend Adam Earnheardt, who I met at TEDx Youngstown has been on that ride since day-1. We grabbed a beer, talked about me being a professor and him being part of the planning committee and a contributor to DOYO Live. That’s a fact!!!

And I’m grateful every day that I’ve got people like Adam in my life.

I felt like Youngstown needed TEDx, it felt like a pep rally with meaning for the city. I was sad to see it go. Over the past couple of years as several groups have tried to bring it back. I offered my service for free to help share what I’ve learned about putting on a successful and growing event.

I’ve even offered to help promote at DOYO Live and with our audience. I’m very excited to hear that TEDx Youngstown is making a comeback in 2018.

I believe it’s an event that our community benefits from…

And however I can be of help to TEDx Youngstown, whether it’s sharing what’s worked for DOYO Live or even leveraging my audience to help create awareness for the event, I’m here to help!!!

By the way, did you watch my talk? I can do better than 650 views.

I use this all the time to explain to business owners and inventors the importance of promotion, of telling people about your business.

The 3’Ps of innovation is really born out of the 4P’s of classic marketing taught in every business school in the United States.

Price, promotion, product, and place.

I like to think that really the 3P’s of innovation and marketing are:

Product, passion, and promotion.

First in any business whether it’s a product or service, you have to come up with an idea that solves a problem.

How many people have that problem will simply give you the ability to determine how big your business is going to be.

If 1-person has the problem your business isn’t going to be very big.

The second P is for Passion. This is probably and the most underutilized, undervalued, underestimated necessity for any business owner that will determine failure or success.

Business is hard…There are going to be days where everything is working and then you get punched in the face.

Two steps forward and one step back. Those that aspire to be great, to be successful will have to find out what it’s going to take to push through…Plain and simple. There’s going to be wins and losses, financial setbacks, personal issues, day-to-day life sacrifices that you will need to decide between fun time or work time.

If you are not in love with what you are doing, what you are creating, your likeliness for success dramatically declines…It’s the passion for what and why you do it that will carry you through to success.

Last but not least promotion. So let me ask you a question?

Have you or anyone in your family or that you know for that matter ever have an MRI?

You know the diagnostic test that determines in many cases as to whether or not you need surgery?

Most, if not all of you reading this blog will say yes!

Here’s a follow-up question…Do you know who invented the MRI?

Dr. Ray Damadian is credited with acquiring the first images off an MRI machine that he invented in 1977. There’s a slight bit of controversy that followed, but we do know that he played a tremendous role in the discovery and invention of probably one of the greatest pieces of medical technology ever invented.

There are 6,500 hospitals, not counting outpatient imaging centers and physician practices that all have one to several MRI machines.

However, did you ever hear of Dr. Damadian?

Likely the answer is no. I would make the case that he’s likely had a more profound impact on your life than Mark Zuckerberg or Bill Gates. Yet, we still don’t know the genius or have we celebrated the genius of this man.

Why?

He obviously had a product…He created a company shortly after the invention of the MRI called FONAR. They’ve been around since the early 1980’s and make the world’s only Stand UP MRI machine.

Another little fact that you probably did not know…

So Dr. Damadian has the product, it can scale because of the number of hospitals and people are in need of his product.

He’s passionate that’s for darn sure…You think it was easy, sitting in the basement of a university working on this discovery?

So he WINS the passion game, checks that box.

Where it all breaks down is the promotion. That’s the last P…Stands for promotion. If you have a great product or service, and in this case, an MRI can change the outcome of your life.

You owe it to me to tell me about your invention about your amazing service or product.

The reason you owe to us is that you might just change my life.

This is also why you don’t know Dr. Damadian’s name…

Because as great of a genius inventor that he is…As big as his passion was…The opposite remains true about his ability to promote.

So that was my TEDx Talk…An event that gave me the confidence to know that I could go out and deliver an interesting talk in front of a large audience.

It’s also a validation that our community in need of events like TED Talks to help push our community forward with inspiring thoughts.

And not to mention it was also the gathering of people that helped to inspire me to launch DOYO Live.

Granted DOYO Live is different.

We are a marketing conference…

Our mission is to provide ongoing professional development to marketing, sales, business and design professionals through our online assets, such as web, blog, webinars, etc.

In person workshops, speaking engagements and our annual conference that’s been attended by 500+ people from about 15-different states, not just Youngstown, over the past 2-years.

We educate throughout the year, on a regular basis to provide value, in order to grow our audience and then get together at our conference in August.

DOYO Live is here to help stimulate the economy of Youngstown.

We’ve created jobs, networks of people doing business, our restaurants, sign companies, contractors all have an opportunity to provide services to our event.

And most importantly we are purpose driven.

Last year we gave back a little over $2,000 to The Rich Center for Autism, provided booths to Ballet Western Reserve and Northeast Ohio Adoption Services to help them create awareness for their non-profits.

We will give back with our time and financial contributions whenever we can…

TEDx Youngstown serves a purpose that’s much needed, has great mass appeal and I’m excited to hear that it’s coming back to Youngstown in 2018.

That’s exciting…We need more events like DOYO Live, like TEDx, Y-Live, the Federal Frenzy, the Youngstown Flea, Summer Festival of the Arts and Youngstown Comic Con to be here and to succeed.

We cannot evolve as a community without these events and we need your support in doing so, and these different events need your support.

There’s a ton of value to each of these events.

They are all very well done.

Last year to give you an example we had almost double-digit speakers providing expert talks on how to’s in marketing, that have spoken at some of the largest most prestigious conferences in the country.

Those conferences cost on average $1,500 to get in the door. Not counting travel, food and time out of work. DOYO Live’s average ticket $150.

That’s a steal…

As we come back in 2018…

The speaker lineup is coming together, we’ve identified a keynote, a number of speakers that have a national presence and we are starting to attract a number of big players in the marketing technology space.

This year we are going to blow the roof off DOYO Live!!!

ABOUT DOYO LIVE

DOYO Live is a digital marketing + interactive design conference that’s dedicated to the ongoing professional development of marketing, sales, business and design professionals.

We do this through our online assets, in-person workshops, public speaking and at our annual conference. Which has been attended by 500+ marketing and business professionals in our first two years.

DOYO Live has dynamic keynotes, breakout sessions, workshops, endless networking opportunities, a vendor hub for expert advice, kickoff party, dj’s, a house band and a totally awesome after-party.

Grab a ticket to DOYO Live 2018 – Early bird tickets are on sale for $150! Reserve your spot today!