Recharging
Robin Chen, a digital technology speaker and teacher, has developed her own unique approach to the business: she uses her down time to organize events that meet her students’ need to unwind and socialize. In a move that has been enormously image enhancing, she also donates all proceeds from her events to charity.
Born in 1970, Chen is a graduate of Soochow University’s Department of International Business and worked as the executive assistant to the CEO of a major company and as a business planner for a golf course before getting into speaking. Before she began working for herself, she took all the classes she could to extend her skills and make herself more competitive in the job market.
Chen began moving in a new direction in 2004 by publishing a twice-monthly electronic newsletter offering her analysis of the job market and emerging digital trends. Emailed to the more than 3,000 people on her contacts list, the newsletter immediately generated an overwhelmingly positive response. Two years later, she quit her day job to become a speaker focused on digital technology.
Over the years, her topics have evolved with the tech sector. She tracks even the subtlest changes in the industry, updating her curriculum every time Microsoft iterates its Windows OS, or Facebook changes its policies.
Involved with the Scouts while in university, Chen served three terms as a scoutmaster in Taipei’s Shipai District after graduating. In addition to familiarizing her with event planning, the experience gave her practice with speaking in public and trained her to gauge audience reactions, smoothing her transition into speaking for a living. “When I was leading Scouts, I dealt with children being silly day in and day out. That training makes it easier for me to deal with the strange questions and weird situations that can crop up in classes.”
Chen has a great reputation. Offered more speaking engagements than she could handle in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, she began rethinking her definition of success. She resolved to book no more than two talks per week no matter how much money she was offered, and decided to focus instead on their quality and on giving herself time to recharge her batteries.
That said, she has an interesting approach to recuperating: she organizes events for a variety of online interest-based “clubs.”
Seeking to live by the scouting credo of doing good deeds and serving others, Chen has created a number of clubs since 2006, including one to share tips and ideas on the digital life, one for wine tasting, one that presents lectures by authors, one that delivers talks on life experiences, and even a reading club. With club events scheduled nearly every week, she had organized a total of nearly 300 events attended by more than 6,000 people as of late June 2013.
“People today are so busy,” says Chen. “They need to spend some time unwinding and making new friends. I just provide a platform for that.” But she admits that the clubs she organizes are also a low-key means of raising her own profile. “You don’t need to say anything. People become familiar with your name and what kind of person you are, which naturally helps you stand out among Taiwan’s thousands of speakers.”
C. C. Chang is a former journalist who jumpstarted his speaking career by first publishing a few books.