We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Carmen W Landrau a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Dr. Landrau, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today How did you come up with the idea for your business?

Several years ago, I was being approached by women at the hospital. Residents and other women physicians would ask me “How do you do it”. They meant to ask how it was possible for me to do “all the things”. At the time I was running the clinic, rounding in several hospitals at times every day of the week. My children were very little, so I was also juggling being a mom and wife, plus was taking care of sick parents. People thought I had it all figured out and many would tell me “I want to do what you’re doing” to which I would half-jokingly reply “no, you don’t, do as I say, not as I do”.

As our conversations got deeper these women would open up and share their experiences. Many of them would state that there were times when they had to take care of a very sick patient who had little chance of surviving but they took care of them and when the patient came out of the hospital walking and talking, those in charge were happy with them. On the other hand, these same women would encounter obstacles and would be told they were too aggressive when they had a difference in opinion with other colleagues, especially of the opposite gender. They could not understand why when they were accomplishing what others didn’t they were seen as a role model but when it came to comparing characters, things were different.

At that moment I realized that they were experiencing something I had gone through but until then I always thought my experience was unique. As I met more women, I realized that this was more common than I thought.

Some years after starting my solo practice I started to feel burnout and was looking for “something else” to do. I wanted to do something different to medicine that would still make a difference and give me satisfaction. I had the opportunity to meet a physician who had left medicine and became a professional speaker and that’s when I learned that I could speak professionally and make a living. I connected the dots and remembered that every time I had been on stage I felt great so I decided that I would be a professional speaker.

I found a speaking coach who helped me hone down my message and understand that my ideal audience was professional women in male dominated careers. These women are excellent at what they do but still encounter obstacles and are not recognized when it comes to advancing to leadership roles or executive levels.

As I presented my idea of the message I wanted to share, many women agreed that this was necessary. In fact, at one of my initial presentations several years ago a senior leader came to me and said that she wished she had ever heard that message when at the beginning of her career. That really made me see that what I was doing was necessary and would make a difference to other women especially those of a younger generation.

Dr. Landrau, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Several years ago I was working 80-100 hours a week as a solo cardiologist, I got into professional speaking after I started to look for something different to the day-to-day physician life. I love seeing patients and helping people stay healthy however, the changes in health care can make it extremely hard to appropriately care for patients.

I did not know I wanted to be a speaker so I dabbed a little in medical communications writing and considered other options. When I found out I that professional speaking could be a career, I realized this was what I wanted to do.

I had spoken in front of audiences a multitude of times however, it never occurred to me that this was a real career. When I found this out, I started to look for information and to learn about it as much as I could. I hired coaches, took courses and realized I had to network outside of medicine in order to be known. I also found a local group of women business owners who was extremely welcoming. To this day, I still have friendships with some of those women I met in that group and we support each other’s businesses.

Early on I realized that my experiences and those of women in other industries were similar. Through coaching I understood that I had a message to share based on my experiences and how I overcame obstacles to become a successful cardiologist. I got clear on who was my ideal audience, developed my signature talk and started to speak locally. I decided that I would speak to professional women in male dominated careers and made myself known as a professional speaker. Soon after I started to get called to speak to corporations and national association events as well as to other private organizations.

As a professional speaker, I work with organizations focused on retaining women in the workforce and promoting them to executive levels. By showing professional women the importance of their visibility at work and how to use it effectively, they’re able to get the recognition they deserve. Hence, they become phenomenal leaders in their industry.

I am proud of taking the necessary steps and building this by myself against all odds. I had no knowledge of the speaking industry but I learned as I went through the daily process and created this business from scratch. In the beginning I received some mocking remarks from people who did not understand what I was trying to do or why I wanted to do anything other than being a cardiologist. I didn’t let it get to me since I was determined to succeed and knew they had no understanding of my situation. When you know what is best for you you can’t let other people’s opinion stop you.

I love to see women getting empowered to become leaders in their organizations. It is truly rewarding to hear from someone who was in the audience and later on connects with me to let me know that because of something I said they are now making steps forward to reach their goals.

What sets me apart from others is that I took the time to learn the business of speaking and develop it as a career. There are many who love getting on stage and do it because it feels great to be in the spotlight. However, one must know that for the event planners it is crucial to have a speaker who behaves professionally and will help make the event a success. As a speaker I know that the time I spend at the event is not about me but about the audience so I have to make the best of it for them.

Also, I am very clear that one of my main objectives is to give the event planners peace of mind. I communicate openly and work with them as they require. Deadlines have to be met and documents turned in without them having to chase you.

I am approachable so those who want to hire me don’t have to jump through a myriad of hoops and red tape. I am accessible for those interested in having me speak at their event and open to a conversation to figure out if we are a good match for each other.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I had to unlearn that I do not have to be perfect to be a successful business owner. As a physician and someone who’s studied medicine for years, I learned to always strive for the perfect answer. It is hard because for years I was used to the notion that there is no room for error in what we do when taking care of patients. However, I have also seen that taking imperfect action is much easier than I thought.

Many times, we hold ourselves back because we don’t have all the answers or we think we are not adequate. We are convinced that we cannot start or even attempt to get something we want because we do not have all that is required. Years can go by and we still don’t dare to take that first step. Now I know that all one has to do is to take that first step because you can figure out the rest along the way.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

When the pandemic started and we all went into lockdown, all in person events were canceled. Local smaller events, national conferences and others were suddenly gone. I saw how many events were rescheduled or  postponed until an unknown date. There was a lot of uncertainty since nobody knew how long this would last and when we could go back again to have in-person events.

I have to say that something positive that came out of this was that many events became virtual to which I was no stranger.
For years before this happened I was taking trainings and attending webinars and other conferences online. I had always wondered why there were no more online events, especially when some people were not able to attend live events due to the logistics of travel, work itineraries, childcare options and so on.

I was happy when companies started virtual events. It meant that I could do more talks in less time without having to travel. In a nutshell, during a live event, I have to show up at the event venue, speak and then travel back home or to the next event.

The caveat now was that I had to be better prepared in terms of technology and audiovisual resources. Also, In a virtual event, although I am not traveling, as a speaker there is a financial investment that may get to be more expensive than the live events if you’re not careful.

For example, I have to make sure that I have good connectivity, that my camera and microphones are working well, I need good lights and to be aware that there may be people entering questions and commenting in the chat. When I am in a live event I walk the stage, test the microphones and get a sense of the lights and the area where people are sitting prior to my presentation

In addition, virtual presentations are a bit different in the sense that it is harder to keep people engaged when they are in front of a camera so your slides and presentation style will change somewhat.

Now, many events are hybrid. While I still have to travel and be in person, I still have to remember to address the virtual audience during my presentation so that I can engage everyone and no one feels ignored.

We’ve had many and big changes in a small amount of time and the speaking profession had to evolve rapidly. From the beginning, I knew that I had to adapt to the times and navigate through the current situation if I wanted to stay in business.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.drlandrau.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drlandrau/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drlandrau
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drlandrau/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@drlandrau

Image Credits
Victoria Garcia Photography The Brand Creative Photography & Design Verona Dominguez Photography