Meet Tracy Shea-Porter
Using a Improv & Corporate Background for Transformative Team Building!
Hey, it’s Alex!
This week, we’re featuring Tracy Shea-Porter — co-founder of Yes Unlimited, a company specializing in team building and leadership development for corporate teams through applied improvisation.
Tracy’s journey offers practical insights on:
Combining diverse skills to create a unique offering
Using a “Yes, and” mindset to seize unexpected opportunities
Building long-term client relationships for sustainable growth
Investing in self-care to stay effective and energized
Check out the full interview below!
Yes Unlimited Quick Stats:
📖 Favorite Business-Related Book: Atomic Habits
👥 Headcount: Two co-founders, 20 facilitators
⏳ Time in Business: 10 Years
💪 Number of Times She Almost Quit: Zero
💼 Average Deal Size or Engagement Size: $2K-$20K
How Yes Unlimited Started…
When I was in my early twenties, I went to my very first improv class, and I haven’t left the community since. I became a performer as a hobby, and alongside that, I was in the corporate world.
I started off as a copywriter, doing event planning, marketing communications, and I worked for several companies over the years in telecom, publishing, and software technology.
I worked at an agency doing PR…
I worked at Bell Canada for 10 years, doing B2B communication and marketing...
I worked in sales with startups and software companies…
I did all of that while I was doing improv, and slowly, all my improv knowledge — which is actually about really effective communication and creativity — seeped into my career.
I became known as a flexible, open, think-on-your-feet businessperson.
As a result, I would always be called on to help with employee engagement…
And about 10 years ago, those two worlds collided, and I ended up bringing my improv into my business world to form ‘Yes Unlimited.’
In a nutshell, we do ‘applied improvisation,’ which is taking principles from improv or sketch comedy and applying those skills to team building and leadership development.
What is Applied Improvisation…
In short: it teaches people how to think on their feet, while truly listening and inviting “yes, and” conversations.
It gives them skills for presentations, networking — all kinds of things.
We’re here to help educate about the value of applied improvisation and also psychological safety around it, too.
Contrary to what a lot of people think, we’re not trying to turn them into performers.
The power really is in the debriefs after each exercise, in the conversations, and in helping people to understand the ‘sense of presence’ they experience.
When you’re doing improv, you can’t be anywhere else except in the present moment...
It helps train the brain to be present and open up to new ideas, and because you’re usually laughing as well, it creates a serotonin boost while you’re bonding with your teammates.
I strongly believe applied improvisation can change communication in the world.
It teaches the qualities that everyone needs.
You’re agreeing to listen and be receptive to new ideas.
If we lived in a world where everyone was always doing that — everything would change.
Leaving the Corporate World…
I got my latest corporate package. In other words: I got downsized.
Throughout my corporate career, there was always downsizing going on in the companies I worked at. When that happens, most companies tend to cut soft skills, and communications fits the bill easily, because we’re not revenue-generating.
Anyway, I got cut, and one day, a neighbor said, “Hey, do you want to try cold calling?”
And I flat-out said no.
She asked me a few times, and eventually, I thought, maybe I should just give it a try…
I tried it — and turns out I was really good at it.
All of a sudden, this company in Kentucky calls me up, tells me they loved my voicemail, and they wanted to fly me down to talk. So I went down to Kentucky, and within 20 minutes, they told me they wanted me to train their entire team.
Right off the bat, they gave me a $100k contract.
"That's how I became an entrepreneur - cold calling."
I almost feel like I was catapulted into this because I did not ever think I was going to be an entrepreneur.
I thought I would always be in the corporate world.
I think I went in that direction because it was the example my mother had set for me.
She was a working woman at a time when women weren’t working.
She was kind of a pioneer, so I just thought, “I’m going to get a corporate job because that’s what my mother did.”
Personally, I think it was a huge blessing…
If I hadn’t worked in the corporate world, I wouldn’t have learned how to run a business.
I worked so many different jobs over the years in all these different departments, and it developed my skills and confidence. If I hadn’t started out where I did, I wouldn’t be where I am now.
I really do believe a lot of the reason people succeed in business is they have a solid foundational knowledge and the confidence to try new things.
They’re not afraid to fail.
Being able to work in the corporate world alongside improv developed me into an open, accepting, empathetic leader, and I’m glad it’s a part of my history.
Niching Down…
A lot of corporations are already working with applied improvisation. It’s still niche, yet it’s actually been around in companies for a while. It’s not going away because it’s integral to effective communication skills.
Communication training in corporate environments is needed more and more, in my opinion.
I’m working on making applied improvisation part of onboarding in companies so that you can go right in and learn techniques for active listening. You go right in and learn how to communicate better so that you’re staying open to ideas and not shutting people down.
One thing when I’m doing training is I talk about the importance of ‘No.’
It’s a very important word when you’re creating boundaries. When you’re building dynamic teams that want to collaborate, ‘No’ tends to stop things. You want to stay open and really listen and hear one another. ‘No’ shuts things down in a way that isn’t positive, in that scenario.
On the topic of niching — I also wrote this book called The “Yes, And” Business Evolution.
Over the last four years, as I was growing my business, I realized I really wanted to be someone people think of when they think of applied improvisation.
So I dug into the niche and I did tons of research.
I really got to understand — even beyond my years of experience — how applied improvisation can help leaders create great teams. I wanted to become someone who really could deliver.
Customer Relationships and Acquisition — Now vs Then…
One of the common experiences we had early on was that people would come in and say, “I want a fun 1- or 2-hour improv event to make my team feel happy and connected,” and that was the extent of the relationship they wanted.
Now, we’re actively looking for multiple events over longer periods of time with clients. Making that transition, though, means working with decision-makers who plan their events sometimes years in advance, as well as collaborating on how to bring in applied improv as part of their actual learning and development programs.
It’s a longer-term strategy, and it’s more complex, yet it’s the direction we really want to head in.
Customer acquisition-wise: referrals through the theater community were huge, early on. Companies would come looking for applied improvisation teachers in the theater community — and because we have the SoCap Theater on the Danforth in Toronto — we got a steady flow of leads that way.
Now, our website and LinkedIn do a lot of that work. We use LinkedIn as a funnel toward our website, where people fill out requests and then get in touch.
Future Plans…
Definitely deepening my partnership with Great Place To Work. I’d love to do some more collaborative stuff with them.
They work with companies that want to be great places to work by surveying their employees through confidential surveys. Then, those companies take action on the results.
And the reason I’m excited about working with companies that want to be great places to work is because they understand the value of applied improvisation as an important training tool.
Generally speaking, I really think partnerships like that can help you excel and level up.
I don't really think you can do it alone in business. If you sit alone, you're not going to grow as much as you need to – you need more activity going on outside yourself.
Biggest Challenges in the Past…
Managing my energy has been the biggest one, by far — and I’ve gotten better over the years.
I just figured out that I need to be looking after myself first.
I’m a big fan of yoga…
I ride my bike every day…
I have a cat…
I have family and friends…
All of that helps immensely.
I’d also say that managing my energy through self-care has made me better at my job, too. I do a lot of facilitating day-to-day.
Facilitating doesn’t go very well if I walk in the room and I’m not dynamic or I’m not confident or I’m not inspiring.
If I look after myself, I can be those things.
I’m kind of fortunate that I’m a grounded person. Working in the business world for years and years, I did burn out a few times just from doing too much, yet luckily, in my case, I haven’t fallen off the cliff, if you will.
I’m always trying to make sure I’m finding that balance — identifying the things that I like to do and doing them. I’m a big proponent of that.
Scaling the Company…
It is very intentional. It’s just Ralph McLeod and I, though.
The facilitator team that we use — they’re all self-employed, and while they work with us, they’re not employees.
We’re incorporated, we work with an accountant, we have a lawyer. We have all those things in place, so there is intention around monthly revenue, annual, year to year.
They may not be as strict or stringent, though, as they might be with larger teams.
I’m looking at significant growth, though, structurally, things are going to stay the same for the foreseeable future. Ralph and I are going to remain the two co-founders of the incorporated company. The facilitators will continue to be self-employed. We’ll just need more of them.
Right now we’ve been outsourcing things like marketing support, web development, et cetera. Yet I do think there is a possibility of taking on some employees down the line. We’ll see how that goes over the next year with some of the partnerships we’re working on!
Managing Budgets and Outsourcing…
I think what really informs me is my business background.
I know how to run a business from the years I spent in the corporate world…
Having said that, there is a phrase that I learned early on that I think is a good one for everyone, which is: do what you do well and hire the rest.
In other words: you don’t have to do it all.
It’s not a good idea because everyone tends to be good at certain things, yet nobody’s good at everything.
I’m a writer, facilitator, leader — I’m not a finance person, that’s why I hired an accountant, and that’s why I would hire a lawyer or a marketer.
On Failure…
I try to not fear failure. I can’t overstate that.
I don’t mind failing, and that’s in large part because of improv. When I fail, I know that’s a pathway to growth because it means that I’m trying new things, and I’m learning. If you don’t fear failure, that growth isn’t just limited to your personal life. It translates to business, too.
Building a successful and sustainable business does not happen in six months. This whole time, I’ve had no funding. I’ve thrown myself into a little debt. And I don’t mind that because the way I look at it: you have to give yourself the time and space to figure it out.
Planning is very important. Sometimes too much planning can stop you from taking action. Yes, you need to forecast. I also think there’s immense value in being improvisational, following your intuition, being guided by what you want to have happen.
Final Thoughts…
I’ve been traveling around a while now, and I want to let people know that every single person has a unique voice that’s important. I notice people don’t always have confidence in themselves. If there’s one thing that I like to really let everyone know, it’s that you really are important, because only you can be you, and only you can make that difference.
Whole worlds can open if you just keep walking the steps and seeing what happens. Let go of perfectionism, this idea that you have to be 100% great at everything. Embrace making mistakes as a positive, happy thing, because it means you’re growing.
To bring it all back: I think that applied improvisation teaches you all that. Take an improv class, check it out in your neighborhood, and get in touch!
I’m here to help people communicate better, and as far as I can tell, the world needs this skill. “Yes, And!”
That’s it for issue this issue!
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If you, or someone you know would like to be featured, or just want to connect, feel free to message me on LinkedIn, or, if you’re building a business of your own and need some support, we should chat!
Interview by: Alex Tribe
Edited by: Angus Merry