Last week I got an email from Nancy Shenker, guru of theONSwitch, and in it she announced that she’s starting a video series on business. Did I say just a video series? I should have said a puppet show video series on business. What?
I gave it a watch and I thought it was awesome. There’s Nancy all right, in person on camera, so no, it’s not an entire puppet show. But there’s also this great puppet Mimi who provides a light tone and comic relief. It’s the perfect combination.
I asked Nancy what inspired her to come up with the idea of using a puppet character in her series instead of the usual talking head, or in lieu of flashy graphics and sound effects. Here’s what she said:
I grew up watching Shari Lewis. Although I didn’t love the show, I marveled at the fact that a woman had stepped into the man’s world of ventriloquism. Puppetry was always fascinating to me and my brothers and I would put on marionette shows for the neighborhood kids (until my dad got tired of untangling the strings and confiscated them). That traumatic experience must have led to this new business initiative!
When I finally decided to join the world of web video for my business, I (of course) went out and bought a woman puppet sidekick. Her name is Mimi and she asks good questions and is open to learning. I hate being on camera, so Mimi provides some comic relief and I don’t mind sharing the screen time with her. Over the next year, I’ll be “broadcasting” my web video talk show free on Vimeo and Wistia and including new episodes in my monthly newsletter.
Shari would dig it, I’m sure!
P.S. I also published two business comic books (because comics were also a childhood passion). They are available on Amazon.
Click below to watch Nancy’s first puppet show business video. It’s not only entertaining, it’s got some eye-opening stats to share too.
