Laurie Calzada
Laurie Calzada is an American entrepreneur, speaker, television host, and author specializing in business innovations and self-help. She has launched and sold seven businesses. Currently, she is the owner of Sharp Approach and Dynamic Approach. She has written and published two motivational books and hosted a television talk show entitled "The Big Money Idea."
Early life
Calzada was born and raised in Lee's Summit, a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri. She grew up in a low-income, single-parent home and was the victim of [...] abuse as well as assault. She studied theater and debate in high school. She performed in several MusicAL theater productions and won several awards. She gave the commencement speech at her high school graduation in 1986. She was a finalist in the 1984 Regional Ms. Teen Pageant. In 1988, she went on to study at the University of Maryland, European Division in Oxfordshire and later she earned a certificate in journalism in 1999.
Television career
The Big Money Idea
Laurie Calzada is the former co-producer and host of a television show entitled "The Big Money Idea" which aired on St. Louis' STLTV in 2010. In this show, she interviewed small business owners as well as Executives from mid-size and large corporations, giving advice on how to maintain and grow your business.
Lipodissolve
Calzada became a spokesperson for Lipodissolve after she was interviewed AbOUT her use of the product in the New York Times. Calzada volunteered to be an early adopter of the injectable treatment and then went on to endorse the product in television advertisements.
Speaking
Calzada is a public speaker who is frequently engaged by business and non-profit organizations to talk about change management and organizational development. Her message is that people should not give up on their dreams or limit themselves by dwelling on the past. She also speaks on how people can overcome abusive childhood experiences, using her own story as an inspirational model.
She has been interviewed by several national publications on the subject of dealing with change. In a Men's Health article, Calzada specifically addresses how to deal with a failed relationship, moving, and starting a new job. In a Women's Day article, she suggests coping with change by rekindling one's interest in a former activity, reading about role models, taking advantage of short periods of idle time, like being stuck in traffic, to practice coping mechanisms like breathing, writing lists and plans, etc. In an interview she gave Carolyn Kepcher for the New York Daily News, Calzada made the point that past traumas and "emotional baggage" can hold someone back in achieving career success, but that such negative emotions can be overcome through coping strategies.
In 2007, Calzada was described as "honest about where she's come from and how she's gotten to where she is today" at a ceremony in which she was inducted in her former high school's hall of fame.
Businesses
The businesses Calzada owns or previously owned are as follows:
- Part Owner in Groom House, LTD in Oxford, England from 1988 - 1990.
- Co-Owner in ExecuTrain of St. Louis from 1991 - 966.
- Owner of Sharp Approach, Inc. from 1996 – present .
- Owner of Sharp Connection, Inc. from 1999 – 2008.
- Owner of ExecuTrain of Kansas City from 2002 – 2004 .
- Owner of ExecuTrain of St. Louis from 2002 - 2006 (purchased from partner).
- Owner of Dynamic Approach, Inc. from 2006 – Present .
She currently owns Dynamic Approach and Sharp Approach. Through Dynamic Approach, Calzada offers her services as a motivational speaker and business coach. She specializes in helping businesses improve communication, motivate employees, and manage a change in leadership. Through Sharp Approach, Calzada develops innovative business solutions.
Books
Calzada is the author of two books which are currently in print: 180 Ways to Effectively Deal with Change and Inspiring Passion in Others.
Inspiring Passion in Others was published by Dynamic Approach in 2006. It is a self-help book which purports to help people identify their priorities and follow their dreams as well as help others to do the same. It has 96 pages of full-color illustrations.
180 Ways to Effectively Deal With Change was published in 2006 by The Walk The Talk Company. An eBook edition was released in 2012. As the title suggests, the book is about coping with change. It received endorsements from several business leaders including LeadersCore President Kathleen Smith, Todd Duncan, and Mac Anderson.
Nine Principles to Living Your Life With Passion is a book in progress which offers several steps for harnessing one's life interests. The book is based, in large part, on a presentation Calzada delivered to Anheuser-Busch in 2007.
Calzada is currently working on another book, Abuse is No Excuse... Breaking the Cycle which is about her experiences of abuse as a child and how she overcame the scars. She began writing the book in 2008, then set it aside because the subject matter was painful to relive. She has since restarted the project.
Sam's Day
Calzada received considerable media attention when she launched a campaign to save a St. Louis coffee shop, owned by a man disabled from birth. When she learned that the shop was struggling to stay open, she sent a mass email, rallying support for the business and its owner. Her email asked not for donations but that people support the business by dropping in and buying a cup of coffee. The ensuing media coverage combined with efforts of local residents to keep the business open. As a consequence, St. Louis recognized Sam's Day on October 19, 2007 as an official day to recognize the coffee shop owner named Sam Malek.
A television show entitled Extreme Makeover heard the story and came the following year to build Malek a new coffee shop.