Laura Ballerini's BIO:

Perspective shifter, Laura Ballerini is an accomplished designer who has been running a thriving communications firm for over 25 years. She started her creative journey in the Advertising Department of The Calgary Herald—during the heyday of newspapers. Ballerini has a degree in Visual Communications from The Alberta University of the Arts and is a recipient of numerous awards. While she’s a quiet and introverted creative, Laura has recently found her inner badass and radiates her “quietly fierce” disposition in her work and in her personal life.

As author of The Green Velvet Chair, Laura gathered a collection of heartfelt stories depicting how art and design influence us and spur creativity in our everyday lives. The essays are viewed through her unique creative lens.

Running her own design boutique over many decades has enabled Laura to work with a variety of clients from many industries. She deliberately chose to ensure her client base was diverse and sees this as her strength. Laura comes to the table with fresh eyes and approaches every project with unique interest and expertise.

Ballerini lives in Calgary, Alberta, with her husband, children, and a pretentious cat named Gooey.

In this episode, Virginia and Laura talked about:

• Laura’s background as a designer

• The transition from print to digital media

• Networking as an introvert

• Laura’s new book The Green Velvet Chair

• The Power of Thought leadership

Takeaways:

1. Know Your Audience

2. Learn to tell your story

3. Flip the networking narrative

4. Ask great questions and listen intensely for networking success.

5. Commit to your vision even when no one else see it

Connect with Laura on her LinkedIn account to learn more about her work and insights into networking effectively:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauraballerini/

Connect with Virginia:

https://www.bbrpodcast.com/