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He Markets His Life Stories
Duane Kusel used to tell funny stories to friends and relatives about farm life for fun. Then someone asked him to speak at an event and he realized he could get paid for doing what he liked to do anyway. He hasn't given up farming, but invitations to speak are on the rise and his reputation has spread from where he li
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He Markets His Life Stories 30-2-7 Duane Kusel used to tell funny stories to friends and relatives about farm life for fun. Then someone asked him to speak at an event and he realized he could get paid for doing what he liked to do anyway. He hasn't given up farming, but invitations to speak are on the rise and his reputation has spread from where he lives in western Wisconsin to the rest of the state and beyond.
"I have been doing gigs in Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois," says Kusel.
"Many of the stories I tell are about my family and I and various incidents around the farm," explains Kusel. "Speaking to groups and telling the stories just started from that."
He prefers farm audiences because they "get" his humor. Non-farm audiences can be tricky. Over time he has developed several lines of stories, and if one isn't getting the desired reaction, he switches to another.
"Making people laugh is the reason I do it, and when it goes well it's a great feeling," says Kusel. "Of course, it doesn't always go that way. You learn early on how to recover. Up there on stage, you're all alone with no one else to fall back on."
As an example of his humor, Kusel says one of his favorite stories has to do with when he was bringing his new bride home to the farm and he put her on the tractor while he rode the bale wagon. Without going into detail, he says, "the honeymoon ended real fast, and I learned a lesson on the importance of good communication between my wife and myself."
Kusel's fee varies depending on the distance he has to travel, size of the crowd and the time of year. So far he has tried to limit jobs to the upper Midwest during the winter months.
"I've probably turned down as many jobs as I've accepted," he says. "I don't milk cows anymore, but I do have livestock, and in the summer, farming keeps me busy."
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Duane Kusel, N7911 County Rd. P, Spring Valley, Wis. 54767 (ph 715 772-4275).
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