More than just talk
By Claire Zimmerman
When Tara Berthier (BA’06) graduated from Dalhousie in 2006, her degree was just a bonus. It was through student politics that she landed her first job—before even receiving her diploma.
A bright and outgoing Cape Bretoner with a love of music and a good challenge, Berthier founded Speakers Boutique, a successful speakers bureau that represents and books thought leaders for speaking engagements. Speakers Boutique’s clients include humanitarian and diplomat Stephen Lewis and Canadian TV producer and comedian Trevor Boris.
Berthier began at Dalhousie in 2001 as a commerce student. After realizing math wasn’t her strong suit, she switched to history. In her final year, Berthier was elected Vice President Student Life in the Dal Student Union. “I really had no idea what I was going to do until I started in the position of VP Student Life,” she says, “and then things started to take shape.”
Bookings and beer
In the fifth and final year of her 15-credit bachelor of arts, Berthier booked the famed sex educator and talk show host Sue Johanson for a lecture at orientation week. “Afterwards we went out for beer and she asked me what my plans were after graduation,” Berthier says, “and asked me if I would consider moving to Toronto and representing her.”
In 2006, Berthier graduated and set off for Toronto to work for National Speakers Bureau. She spent two years coordinating Sue Johanson’s visits to roughly 30 schools per year. “I was cold calling, deepening relationships with buyers, creating new relationships,” she says. But she craved more of a challenge.
In the fall of 2008, Berthier began working at S.L. Feldman & Associates, one of Canada’s largest music management agencies, which represents musicians like Michael Bublé and Norah Jones. “I’ve always had a huge interest in music,” Berthier says. She’d even landed a trip to Toronto in the second season of Canadian Idol when she was 20, and frequently performed at Grawood open mic nights as a student (when she won she’d buy her friends a round with the prize money).
A new challenge
Berthier spent more than a year at S.L. Feldman before moving through a string of jobs at other entertainment and speaker agencies in Toronto. At 28, feeling the need for more of a challenge, Berthier moved home to Halifax and founded her own agency, Speakers Boutique. For three years she worked from Halifax as both an agent and a newly-minted entrepreneur.
Running a business, she says, is where her degree really showed its value—particularly because she studied arts. “Having the ability to form a strong argument is a very important skill,” she says. “Writing papers, trying to make compelling arguments, and research are all really important skills if you’re going to be in business.”
Speakers Boutique remains active, but Berthier now spends most of her time in Manhattan as a consultant and collaborative partner with The Guild Agency, which represents such speakers as Academy Award winner Patricia Arquette and politician Donna Brazile. She finds the bustle of the big city invigorating. “I work from 7:30 until 7 or 8 at night. And I love it. I love the results that come along with that hard work,” she says. “And if I’m going to be the best I have to work harder than everyone else. Because there’s no substitute for that.”