The next-chapter keynote
A practical talk about the life behind the numbers, everyday habits and taking one useful next step.
- Planning range: 30–45 minutes
- Optional audience questions
- For conferences, teams and community events
Speaking · The Life ManualA business owner’s perspective.
A business owner’s perspective.
A human conversation.
Explore a guest conversation for financial-industry events with Eric Guillory about money habits, business ownership, life decisions and the reader behind The Life Manual.
How booking worksThree simple steps.
Three simple steps.
No pressure.
Planning an assembly, staff training or community night? Start with a few details and Eric will take it from there.
- Tell Eric about your people
Who’s coming, roughly how many, date ideas and what you hope they take away.
- Talk it through
Eric follows up to discuss fit, format and the details of your event.
- No commitment yet
A request starts the conversation. It doesn’t confirm a booking or a fee.
Turn it up. Take the next step.Make the room
Make the room
count.
Schools, teams and community groups. Bring Eric’s practical money and life conversation to the people you want to encourage.
Promotional slideshow with illustrative scenes. The song is performed by a separate singer, not Eric.
Download the vertical video ↓Read the words
Give your people a reason to move.
From the classroom floor to the working crew,
Everybody needs a next step they can use.
Talk about money, talk about life,
Turn a good intention into something you write.
Bring Eric in, get the whole room thinking,
Less drifting, more doing, start building.
Book Eric to speak, make the next move count.
Put a plan in their hands, turn the volume up loud.
Schools, teams, communities too,
A practical conversation made for your crew.
Bring Eric in, let the next chapter begin!
Hire Eric to speak.
Tell him about your event.
Choose a starting formatThe right conversation.
The right conversation.
For your room.
Three ways to begin planning. Eric confirms the topic, length, delivery and fit for your audience.
The practical workshop
Examples, reflection and selected exercises that help participants connect a lesson to their own questions.
- Planning range: 60–90 minutes
- Private writing and guided discussion
- For classes, employee groups and learning programs
Book to conversation
A facilitated conversation around selected themes from The Life Manual, with room to reflect and ask questions.
- Planning range: 45–60 minutes
- Flexible discussion prompts
- For book clubs, libraries, teams and smaller groups
Something you can forward
Download the planner kit ↓Make the planning conversation easier.
Eric’s bio, format ideas, a planning brief and a practical room checklist—in one event-planner kit.
Give a professional audience a different starting point
People who work in financial services spend much of their day with terminology, processes and client questions. A guest conversation can step back from those details and explore the person trying to make sense of a financial decision. What does that person want life to feel like? Which question feels embarrassing to ask? Why does a plan sometimes remain unused even after someone understands the explanation?
Eric brings the perspective of a person who built and sold a business and wrote a practical book for readers making everyday choices. That is the starting point for discussing a possible appearance, not a claim that he represents your firm, offers a regulated service or carries a current professional credential. Tell him why that perspective belongs in your event. A clear purpose helps separate an educational conversation about behavior and communication from a technical session that should be led by a suitably qualified specialist.
Define the audience before defining the topic
An internal team meeting, an association gathering and a public client event need different planning. Employees may want a conversation about explaining ideas in plain language. An association may be exploring the experience of business owners. A public audience may need an accessible introduction to habits, goals and preparation, with a clear boundary around questions that require individual advice.
Describe who will attend and what role they have in the room. Are attendees practitioners, support staff, clients, students or a mixture? Will the event be recorded or distributed outside the original audience? Is the session part of a sponsored program? These details affect language, examples and review requirements. Share them before discussing a title. A title should accurately describe the agreed content rather than imply technical instruction, endorsement or a continuing education benefit that has not been established.
Possible professional-audience discussion prompts:
- Translate a sentence of industry shorthand into language a new reader could explain back, then discuss what meaning was lost or clarified.
- Give a fictional business owner a stated goal and an incomplete fact pattern. Ask which questions belong first and which assumptions need checking.
- Compare the information a client needs to understand an illustration with the information a professional needs before making an individual recommendation.
Select one prompt that fills a gap in the wider agenda. Let the event reviewer examine its wording, and give the moderator time to connect the exercise back to the agreed educational purpose.
Discuss decisions beyond the business balance sheet
A business can demand attention from morning to night while the owner keeps postponing personal questions. What is the business supposed to make possible? What would a good next chapter look like? Which responsibilities remain even when an owner eventually steps away? Those questions can open an engaging conversation for people who work with entrepreneurs and closely held businesses.
Eric’s own experience of building and selling a company gives context to his interest in those questions. It does not establish the circumstances, valuation, transaction structure or outcome for another owner. Keep the proposed discussion focused on perspective and preparation. If attendees need transaction planning, tax analysis, legal guidance or specific investment recommendations, the organizer should assign those subjects to appropriate professionals. A guest story can help people recognize a question; it should not substitute for the professional work needed to answer it in an individual situation.
Make plain-language communication part of the exercise
A useful exercise for a professional audience is to explain an ordinary planning question without relying on shorthand. Ask what a reader would need to understand before comparing choices. Have participants identify a hidden assumption, rewrite a confusing instruction or distinguish a hypothetical illustration from a promised outcome. The aim is to explore communication, not to test who knows the most terminology.
For a mixed audience, use a fictional example and give everyone the same facts. Invite participants to say what information is missing and how they would ask for it respectfully. One person may begin with the goal, another with timing, and another with the practical constraints around action. Those approaches can be discussed without declaring one script suitable for every client. Agree with Eric on the exercise and its limits before the event, especially if your organization has a formal review or approval process.
Set content and credential boundaries in writing
An event introduction should use verified facts: Eric is the author of The Life Manual, has built and sold a business, and is interested in practical financial education and life choices. Do not add current securities licenses, professional designations, institutional affiliations, awards or client results unless they have been independently established and approved for use. Historical information in a manuscript should not be turned into a present-tense credential.
The organizer should identify the person responsible for reviewing event copy, slides, handouts and any public recording. Explain your deadlines and approval requirements before committing to a delivery schedule. If a subject is outside the agreed scope, decide whether the moderator will redirect it or refer the attendee to a relevant professional. These practical boundaries make the invitation clearer for the speaker, host and audience. They also keep the session from being advertised as a service or certification that nobody agreed to provide.
Use the book as a conversation resource
The Life Manual pairs explanations with workbook reflection. For a professional event, that can create a discussion about the questions readers ask and the gap between understanding a concept and changing a habit. Organizers can preview Chapter 1 and consider whether its tone fits their audience before asking about a book-related session. A preview is a fit check, not an approval of every claim for use in your organization’s materials.
If copies are part of the event, clarify who orders them, when quantities become final and how attendees receive them. Ask Eric directly about price, availability and timing. Keep promotional arrangements transparent to the audience. Neither the book nor a speaking inquiry should be described as an investment product, a personalized financial plan or evidence of a particular outcome. The resource can start useful questions while leaving professional recommendations and individual decisions in the appropriate setting.
Prepare a moderator who can protect the purpose
A moderator helps keep an industry event useful when the audience brings a wide range of specialized questions. Prepare a short set of prompts about habits, goals, business ownership and communication. Decide which questions fit the guest conversation and which belong with another presenter. A clear introduction can explain that the session is educational and tell attendees how questions will be handled.
Use a question collection method that does not expose private client details or account information. If an attendee begins describing a personal case, the moderator can invite a general version of the question. Agree on timing for introductions, discussion, audience participation and closing remarks. Plan how the session connects to the next agenda item, particularly if a technical professional will expand on a subject afterward. That structure lets the guest perspective add something distinct without blurring the purpose of the wider program.
Send a brief that makes review possible
In your first request, identify the organization, audience, event purpose, date range and expected format. Describe any content approval, disclosure, recording or sponsor requirements. State whether the event is internal or open to the public and whether books are being considered. Include a realistic deadline for a fit decision and a separate deadline for final materials.
Eric can then discuss whether his experience and the book’s themes belong in your program. The form does not confirm a date, fee, continuing education status or permission to publish recordings. Those matters require direct agreement, and continuing education credit should not be advertised without a separate established approval. If your program needs a different type of expertise, say so early. A useful booking conversation begins with the job you want this guest session to do and an honest description of the responsibilities your organization must retain.
A useful question for the event team
Before selecting a session, ask what the audience should gain from hearing a business owner’s perspective that the technical program does not already provide. Write that distinction into the brief. Then identify the person who will review public descriptions and materials. Clear ownership of those decisions helps the guest conversation add value without creating confusion about professional roles.
Compare the speaking options, preview the free first chapter, or explore The Life Manual and group copies before planning your event.
Keep the momentumA useful plan.
A useful plan.
A better event.
Choose reader lessons, group-book ideas or event-planning tips. Get five practical emails at a comfortable pace. You choose the path, and you can unsubscribe.
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Privacy information →A few good questions
Let’s make it clear.
Don’t see your question? Text Eric: 504-382-5584
Is this a technical investment training course?
No. Discuss a guest educational conversation about habits, business ownership, life choices and communication rather than assuming technical investment instruction.
Does Eric claim current securities licensing here?
No current securities license or professional designation is claimed on this page.
Can this fit an internal financial-services team event?
Share your team’s roles, learning purpose and review requirements so Eric can discuss fit.
Can a client audience attend?
Describe the audience and any public-event requirements. The scope and handling of individual questions need agreement.
Is continuing education credit included?
No credit is represented or promised. Any credit requires a separate established approval process.
Can our compliance or event team review materials?
Explain the required review, responsible contacts and deadlines during the booking discussion.
Can we describe Eric as our adviser?
Do not imply an advisory relationship, employment or firm endorsement that has not been established.
Will he discuss selling a business?
Ask about a perspective-based conversation grounded in his own experience. Individual transaction, tax and legal advice are outside this proposed scope.
Can a moderator lead the session?
A moderated conversation may be discussed, including agreed questions, timing and boundaries.
May we distribute a recording to clients?
Distribution and recording permissions require direct agreement before recording or publication.
Can we include group book copies?
Ask Eric separately about quantities, availability, price and delivery timing.
What belongs in the inquiry?
Include the organization, audience, learning purpose, date options, format, review requirements and decision deadline.
Keep the momentum
Your next useful step.
Colleges & adult students
Financial Education Speaker for Colleges
Practical questions for students preparing for their next chapter.
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Libraries & reading groups
Financial Education Speaker for Libraries
An approachable author conversation built around your readers.
Explore this eventThe author & book
Meet the person behind the conversation.
Explore Eric’s background and the ideas behind The Life Manual.
Meet Eric