The year is 2009. I was 13 years old and all I wanted to do was drive a racing car. At this point in my motorsport endeavors, I raced as often as I could, regardless of the series, the type of car, or honestly how much money I was going to make. I was completely obsessed.
But how do you accumulate the necessary wealth to fulfill your dreams and enjoy a long motorsport career? Insert racing legend Lyn St. James.
One evening during this time I received an email inviting me to Lyn St. James’ Women at Winner’s Circle Academy in Phoenix.
Of course I agreed. A few months later I went to Phoenix, met Lyn and her team and attended a 3 day program focused on marketing, media, fitness and nutrition.
We had the opportunity to work with world-class trainers and nutritionists, learn from a top-notch mental preparation expert, and take part in mock interviews. All present were presented with the necessary tools to take our career to the next level. It was up to us how we applied them.
From then on, Lyn took me under her wing, mentoring me and introducing me to key players in the motorsports industry while also supporting me in my racing.
I was grateful for everything she did, but being so young, I didn’t realize how the lessons I learned during my time with Lyn and her program would not only apply to my motorsport career, but to my training and off the track would have a positive impact on professional ventures.
As the years progressed and I developed through the sport, attended college and excelled in my role at The Sam Bernstein Law Firm, those lessons came to the fore.
I excelled in certain areas of my work, in large part due to the skills and acumen I attributed to Lyn St. James during my experiences as a youth: how to have a conversation, how to network, how to give a great interview and how to be aware of certain tendencies, how to eat right and adapt my training to my racing craft, how to deal with mental preparation and most importantly know my own worth.
In recent years I have begun to refer to various stages of learning and development as an element or stepping stone in the building blocks of life. Not biological, but more philosophical. The climax is the achievement of our purpose and/or ultimate goal.
Meeting Lyn and getting to know important aspects of the industry from her was one of my personal building blocks.
Since returning to motorsport I’ve had a second chance to apply what Lyn showed me years ago. In addition, it has also enabled me to incorporate thought processes and decision-making techniques from my personal work and training into my racing and to pass them on to the next generation of young racers – more building blocks.
relocated my operations from Michigan to Indiana during the off-season; Participation in sponsorship engagements and speaking engagements; Negotiations with vendors; maintaining and complying with our team budget; increasing interactions with social media; Networking; relief; and orchestrating many of the behind-the-scenes efforts with my crew chief, Kevin Besecker – every piece of the puzzle was critical in preparing Fern Racing for the upcoming USAC Silver Crown season.
Also, my team and I have worked so hard to raise the funds to race. From reaching out to reps from companies I happened to meet to reaching out to sponsors from the past, I was in the process of using my networking skills to the best of my ability.
Then a phone call changed the game significantly. Bradford Allen, a Chicago-based commercial real estate company, really came to support my racing program like knights in shining armor.
There really is no formula for finding a sponsor or marketing yourself properly. Everyone has something different to offer when it comes to sponsorship and how to secure it. But one thing that remains common to all of this is that the skills required to do so cannot be easily taught or acquired. Instead, these assets are acquired through learned behavior.
In addition, people can easily decipher what is authentic and what is a selling point. When you genuinely care and are passionate about what you are saying, it speaks volumes about your love for whatever is being discussed. Be authentic. Be honest. Show your passion effectively. You have to believe in yourself in order for others to feed on your energy and believe in you too.
Everything that has happened to me in my life so far with the help of great people has led me to this point in my career. There are no truer words than what is represented by the proverb, “Everything happens for a reason.”
It just depends on the reason.
Presented by:
www.womeninmotorsportsna.com
This story appeared in the March 22, 2023 issue of SPEED SPORT Insider.
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