Laura Best is a keynote speaker, bestselling author of Born to Buzz, and the founder of Passion Collective—a global community dedicated to helping organizations activate passion, motivation, and engagement in their people. Originally from the UK, Laura moved to the US at 26 with just $500 and a suitcase to pursue her advertising dreams. After 20+ years in global marketing leadership, she launched Passion Collective in 2014 to empower others to do more of what they love. Today, she balances her scaling business with raising her teenage daughter, Sophia.
I’m a keynote speaker, bestselling author of Born to Buzz, and founder of Passion Collective, a global community for Passion Seekers. My work focuses on helping organizations activate passion in their people, creating motivation, trust, and engagement. I was born in the UK and moved to the US when I was 26 with $500 and my suitcase, eager to live my dream of working in advertising! In the 20+ years since, I built a career in global marketing leadership until 2014, when I started Passion Collective to help myself and others do more of what they love in work and life.
My daughter, Sophia, is, like many teens, brilliant at using her phone! So, as I’ve been creating content for my keynote speaking business, she’s been an invaluable help with producing videos, and most recently, our new Pinterest boards! She and her friends are also “obsessed” with all sorts of beauty products, so I now get many beauty tips from her, which is especially helpful in my speaking career!
Fly, fly!
Chief Encouragement Officer!
I’m guilty of the “knock knock” then walking into my daughter’s room “just to check in/recover dirty dishes/check you’re alive”! It’s terrifying how quickly time is flying, and how little I now have with my daughter. Any chance I can get to taxi her and her friends around, help with schoolwork, or take her shopping, I take!
As a keynote speaker, my parenting experience as a professional (and one that overcame burnout to craft a new career path) has given me a tremendous amount of compassion for others. One of the most meaningful parts of my keynote speaking engagements is where I lock eyes with an attendee across a room, and I just know where they are as a new or younger parent. I do all I can to let them know I see them, and to share what I’ve learned to help.
Most of all, becoming a parent woke me up to how I was spending my days and my talents. I’ll never forget walking around a lake with Sophia while on maternity leave and marveling at all of the people who were outside, having fun at 2pm on a Tuesday! After almost 15+ years of an 8-6 in corporate spaces, often with no windows, it seemed unreal! After Sophia was born, I realized I had to create more meaning and impact with my work, and that I had a duty to love what I did for a living. That’s been a wonderful gift!
I hope it has made me more understanding. Before I was a parent, I had no idea how challenging it was and when I was a young director, I’m sure I made assumptions that were probably unfair and unrealistic. Overall, being a parent has sharpened my instincts and forced me (in a good way) to do what I believe to be right. That can certainly help decisions, as I’m now very focused on being a calm, hopefully inspiring Mum. Any opportunity that threatens that is not worth the risk.
When I returned to work after having Sophia at 12 weeks, I was bored. I quickly realized that responsibility had been taken away from me during my leave. I spoke to my leaders about this, and they explained that because I’d just returned from leave, they assumed that I didn’t want as much work on my plate, you know, now that I’m a Mom.
It was, in fact, the opposite. If I was going to go back to work then I wanted that time to be truly valuable, where I could make the greatest contribution. Their behavior came from good intentions, but they never asked me what my preference was, and when I raised it, they seemed confused as to why I’d want the challenging work. A conversation before I went on leave could have solved a lot of heartache!
Parenthood created a different type of drive in me—and while yes, I wished I’d had more time with Sophia as a baby, if I had to return to work (and I did have to; I was on an H-Visa which mandates a job. It was an impossible situation) then I wanted to make it matter. It’s different for every new parent, so it’s vital that communication happens between the company and individual to gain that clarity together.
As a keynote speaker and author, I want to light up as many audiences and readers as I can, showing my daughter that it IS possible to do more of what we love. At the same time, I very much want to be present for her as she navigates high school. It’s both.
Aside from a full year of parental leave (I was given 10 days; I negotiated 12 weeks, but had to self-fund the extra—not easy), I’d love to see organizations create space for parents to explore their passions. For example, a “Passion Mini-Sabbatical” where companies sponsor employees to do something outside of their direct job description. Working parents have very little spare time, and this would maximize their time—and contribution at work (in fact, everyone should have it 😉).
As a Brit living 4,000 miles from home, I had very few resources. How I wish I’d had Josie! I leaned on friends for advice on baby clothing, equipment, and routines. I honestly can’t remember talking to anyone about the transition back to work either in my network or with my employer. I literally just launched myself back into a full-time, advertising agency director role. I had no idea how challenging it would be!
Don’t try to do it all. I know you may be worried about taking your foot off the career gas pedal; the right employer will give you resources and will meet you where you are.
