Ladies Who Launch

Television Personality and Producer, Author, Syndicated Columnist, and Public Speaker
www.debbietravis.com

Debbie Travis will be one of the featured speakers at our BYOB (Be Your Own Boss) event on October 4 in Toronto. Click for more info.

When Debbie Travis bought her first Victorian home, she couldn’t have imagined that her new residence would launch a new career. The former art student, model, and producer from Lancashire, England, began to experiment with popular revivals of historic English painting techniques. Using her walls as a canvas, she demonstrated an undeniable flair for faux finishes. Her talent captured the attention of friends and acquaintances, who started hiring Debbie to paint their homes.

As Debbie began to take on more commercial projects, interest from the media and from consumers who wanted to replicate her style grew. She launched a video called “Decorating Paint Finishes Made Easy,” which, along with three subsequent painting videos, continues to sell throughout the U.S.. The video was also the impetus behind a lucrative book deal with Random House.

Debbie’s next big step and a career turning point was a TV series called “Debbie Travis’ Painted House.” The show originally consisted of Debbie teaching people how to paint faux finishes in their own homes. It wasn’t until the show’s seventh year that Debbie and her crew realized it was far more interesting to shoot what was going on behind the scenes—children misbehaving, mistakes being made, nosy neighbors, and a frenzied family stressing over doing a home renovation with a TV crew invading their living space. Suddenly, the painting became secondary. The new format was an instant success and is now shown in 80 countries.

Two shows followed, including “Debbie Travis’ Facelift” in the spring of 2003, and “From the Ground Up,” which launched in the summer of 2008. All three shows currently air in the U.S. and Canada on stations including HGTV, E!, and The Fine Living Channel. Debbie’s product line expanded to include design stencils, a kit for do-it-yourself decorators, and nine books, including the new release Not Guilty: My Guide to Working Hard, Raising Kids and Laughing Through the Chaos . Her weekly syndicated newspaper column has 6 million American readers. And, with Debbie’s knack for identifying and fulfilling market trends, it’s clear that hers is a masterpiece still in progress.

What we learned from Debbie: “Fear is the most important thing. You don’t have to be terrified, but if you don’t have that knot when you start a new venture, you’re not challenged and you’re not excited. There has to be a slight, ‘Oh my God, am I going to look stupid? Am I going to lose money? Am I not going to make it?’”

Talent Vs. Success

“I am not that talented. A lot of very talented people aren’t good at running a business. Most of the people who have done very well are not the most talented, but they surround themselves with people who embellish what they do well. You also have to be a brilliant salesperson.”

On Growing a Platform

“I was lucky because I was one of the first [in my field]. It would be much harder today to go out and launch a new name. If I were starting today, I would use the Internet . Make people see your name somewhere. Get a column, get a Web site, give tips.”

Turning One Book Into Eight, Without An Agent

“I took my video to Atlanta to the gift show. A few publishers asked about turning it into a book. I went to New York, where most of them were, and in one morning, all three small and mid-sized publishers said, ‘Absolutely, we’ll do a book.’

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