That's it right?
DTBG4 Gold Sponsor Guest blog written by
Jill Showalter | Showalter & Company
Many many moons ago in October of 2010, I attended the Mid-Eastern APCO Conference, which was my first conference as a dispatcher. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but a few other dispatchers from my agency were also going, so at least I’d know someone. Although it was my first experience, I remember that it was a good time visiting vendors, eating the provided lunch, and watching several presenters, even those not from Maryland. That was the first time I ever got to watch Doug present. During his presentation, I remember looking around the room and thinking, this guy has the full attention of everyone in the room, which was not an easy thing to do since it was about 150 attendees.
In April of 2011, I attended my first national conference, the IAED Navigator in Las Vegas, Nevada. And once again, I watched the same guy who presented in Maryland months earlier. I attended this national conference with two of my coworkers, and we attended Doug’s presentation, because, let’s face it, we knew it would be great.
By 2015, Doug and I were married, living in California and contemplating starting our own speaking/training business. I’d told him from very early on; he was much more talented than the company he was currently employed by. For years I witnessed how hard he would work to make each course better than the next, but continually be held back by that company. Doug always made sure that the classes he presented contained current, relevant, and useful content, but by working for someone else, they would benefit much more from his hard work than Doug ever would. I loved him and I wanted him to have the creative freedom and accolades that came along with all the hard work and commitment he poured into the classes.
I’d be the first to admit that although, I was pushing him on the outside, I was quietly concerned how/if we could make this work. Since neither of us knew much about running a successful business, with billing, invoicing, acquiring new customers, I damn sure was going to work hard to make it a success.
In late 2015, we did it, we filed all of the necessary paperwork, and officially opened, “Showalter & Company”, which was initially started as a sole proprietor, but we were an actual licensed business! We even joined the local Chamber of Commerce and then thought…NOW WHAT? We told our closest friends and even created a business Facebook page, believing that’s all there was to it having a business. Hahaha...not even close.
Our friend, Joe McCarville with Iowa APCO was the first person to reach out to us as Showalter & Company to see if we could present at their state conference in April of 2016. We are so fortunate to have such good friends supporting us, Leslie Whitham and John Korman were so excited for us, they were both going fly to Iowa to watch the inaugural presentation of Showalter & Company. That’s it right? Hahaha…not even close.
Much to our complete surprise in March of 2016, we received a call from LT Haight with the Idaho PSAP Committee, apparently, they were looking for a last-minute keynote fill-in for their state conference that was only two-weeks away. TWO WEEKS! We’d been planning for months our debut as Showalter & Company at the Iowa APCO Conference, and now we had to make a quick decision about flying to Idaho. Even though we were very nervous, after much contemplation, we decided to go for it. We weren’t necessarily ready to start presenting as Showalter & Company to a large group of people we didn’t know, in a state we’ve never been to, but we did. You see, our friend Nathan Lee had originally been contacted about filling in for their conference, but he wasn’t available, and he so graciously recommended us, so how could we say no!
While we were continuing to build up our company, we really had no idea what, where, when and how to be a business. Although there were many tears, many disagreements, and overwhelming helpings of self-doubt, every time we were ready to throw in the towel, we’d get someone inquiring about our services. In those early years a lot of our business was word of mouth and places Doug had previously taught, or a conference he had previously presented at. Throughout all of that, I had one goal for our business, I wanted it to come full circle and eventually return to Maryland as Showalter & Company to present at a conference or teach some classes.
In August 2017 we attended the national APCO Conference in Denver, Co. Neither of us had ever attended APCO, so we really had no idea what to expect. Doug had submitted a few breakout sessions which were selected. The APCO conference was so large and so different, but the best part was running into many familiar faces. When you’re going anywhere for the first time, familiar faces also give you a sense of belonging and those faces did that for us.
As a new business we were still finding our footing with the design of the logo, mottos, and branding. We had a few logos and mottos over the years, but regardless of what they were, Doug always ended a class talking about the movie “It’s a Wonderful Life”, and how one person can make such a tremendous difference without even realizing it. Then it finally stuck, our logo and motto as Showalter & Company would be “Leave a Legacy.” Doug ends the majority of his presentations with the message of leaving a lasting legacy, so why not make it our motto. That’s it right…? Not yet.
Over the years Doug and I have both learned so much about operating a successful business, from contracts, invoices, billing, quotes, and scheduling. But after a lot of trial and error, I figured it out. I’ve learned that every agency, state, county, committee, do things a little or a lot differently. Thankfully, we have a very supportive group of friends who offer help, guidance, and support.
In 2018, I was more excited than ever, because we were contacted by the great folks in Maryland, inquiring about Doug presenting at the “Day of Celebration” and also teaching some classes. I was beyond excited, I finally got to go back to my home state, where my career in 9-1-1 started which felt like a full circle moment.
Doug and I both decided from early on, that we wanted to do things our way. We knew 9-1-1 is a 24/7/365 job, so that’s why we offer to conduct classes at all hours, weekends and even holidays, to ensure agencies can get everyone trained. We also found that charging a flat rate, and no class minimums or maximums would allow much more flexibility for a Communication Center trying to get everyone trained. All of our presentations are specifically designed to engage your most senior staff and the newest trainee, and from the highest-ranking position to the lowest rank. We offer to modify a presentation based on the audience, if the classes need to be more supervisor minded, we can do that, if the class needs to be for frontline only, we can do that too.
Over the years Doug has been surprised by the number of committees that have contacted us for a specialized Keynote or conference training session based on hearing about us by word of mouth. We’ve even had the great honor of presenting a leadership course to the FBI Academy Conference, Metro Aviation CommLead Conference, Texas DPS and the International Wireless Conference. I wasn’t surprised, although I could be slightly bias, but Doug is a great presenter and has a real passion, the message he delivers surpasses public safety.
We are always changing and learning and as a business we have to be flexible. Doug was initially against virtual classes, but during COVID we had to change if we wanted to continue to deliver our great message, by trial and error we learned to present to a virtual audience. It’s not ideal, but during that time, we did what was needed to be done to continue to provide 9-1-1 professionals with great training.
I think the most important part of who we are as a business, is that we listen to what is needed and can pivot to continue to deliver our message. We aren’t stuck in the way it’s always been or the way it has to be, we change as the times change. At Showalter & Company, Inc., we are having the time of our life and loving every minute, and feel so privileged to work with so many professionals.
That’s it right…? Nope that’s never it. The Who, the “Who” are why we are still here. The Who are our friends who have cheered us on from the start, heard our frustrations, offered guidance along the way, never gave up and believe in us. Most importantly the Who are all those who have attended our classes and conference sessions and continue to attend them.
Fun Fact: During APCO 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada I remember that Ricardo had put out an invitation for all who were available to meet up for a drink prior to the APCO conference starting the next day. The evening turned out to be Doug, Ricardo and Myself. For a few hours we laughed, talked and shared stories. Doug told Ricardo that we had to go to check out our assigned conference room and he was nervous because the size of the room – was huge, Ricardo said he checked out his assigned conference room and was like OMG, I’m never going to fill this room. I sat back as both of these guys talked about how embarrassing it would be if they only have like 5 people in their sessions. I just laughed because they were both up at the same time. I felt bad for those that were presenting at the same time as Doug and Ricardo as I knew they would both draw like 90% of that hour’s attendees. As it turns out, both Doug and Ricardo had standing room only sessions that next morning.