The “money” is in clarity. Okay, now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, let me offer some context before I explain further.
I’ve spent most of March steeped in speaking coaching the 15 women who are joining me at the end of this week for my MasterTreat. (This is the house we will be staying in. Gorgeous, right?)
Several days this month I started coaching as early as 6am, and sans a few mid-day breaks, would coach straight through until 6pm. I can’t imagine anything else I would want to do for such a long stretch of time. (It was a great reminder that it is definitely time to bring back my private speaking coaching and launch speaker mentorship!) I absolutely adore coaching leaders, entrepreneurs, performers and professionals on how to use public speaking to share big ideas, transform lives, inspire action, and build successful businesses and movements.
As I reviewed the manuscripts and footage of my MasterTreaters, right at the same time I was finalizing the slate of speakers for the TEDxWomen event I co-organize and co-host, I observed an unfortunate theme emerging.
I was consistently getting confused. In the details.
I would understand the general arguments being made in the talks I was reading or watching, but I would get lost within the unfolding of main and supporting points. I was often stumped by what I was supposed to take away from the stories being shared.
The most consistently booked—and therefore profitable—speakers may have big ideas, but they know how to communicate them clearly. Every word, every question, every moment of silence and every gesture feels intentionally chosen to help an audience move forward.
We are tasked with weeding through the clutter in order to get to the clarity when presenting our ideas, if we are serious about making back impact with our messages.
In order to build and sustain a thriving career or business, we need to be equally clear about where we are spending our time (the ole, working smart vs. working hard) and how we are investing in, cultivating and maintaining our success.
During the first few years after I left my internal training job, I easily spent 50 to 60 hours a week working on my new consulting business. And although I had clients and enjoyed a variety of wins, I never felt like I was moving (and staying) ahead and building on (and scaling) my success.
I would make $20,000 one month—and then a few hundred dollars the next two months.
I’d onboard 4 or 5 new coaching clients—and then 6 months later they’d all complete at the same time and I’d be scrambling to fill their spots.
I was constantly enrolling in classes and coaching programs that were supposed to help me figure out why I wasn’t earning more money and holding onto the money I was earning. Few did. I kept learning new formulas that didn’t integrate with what I was seeking to do and didn’t deliver the purported results. As a consequence of my seemingly never ending professional development, it wasn’t uncommon for me to spend more on my business than I made in my business.
At the root of my struggle, which manifested as sadness, frustration, diminishing self-worth and at time crippling anxiety—lack of clarity about what I really wanted (and the exact steps it really took to make it happen).
What has enabled me to empower my clients’ success is ultimately what is making my business successful—my ability to get clear on the right details.
I know how to take someone’s speaking content and make it a dynamic, full-bodied experience for an audience.
I understand how to create (and attract) speaking opportunities that pay me what I am worth—and show others how to do the same.
And I also know how to create breathtaking results for my business and for my clients by doing the right work in the 25-30 hours per week I choose to work.
Growing up, I was lucky to have parents who constantly praised me for being smart. Unfortunately, it took me almost a decade to act like it with respect to how I developed my career. I want you, wherever you are on your professional journey, to learn from my missteps—and to absorb the learning that has informed my more recent keen decisions. Here’s how…
On March 31, I’m hosting live virtual training, Boost Your Financial Bottom Line Through Speaking.
This will be unlike any virtual training I’ve led as I’ll be sharing the exact steps I’ve taken to build a thriving business with speaking as the foundational income generator. Whether you have your own business or work a j-o-b, if you are hungry to use TED-style talks, keynotes, workshops, webinars or the myriad other speaking platforms to add speaking revenue to your life, you won’t want to miss this event.
We Are Going to Talk About
- How to make meaningful money as a speaker—without having to compromise your message or your integrity.
- The essential materials required to book high quality speaking gigs.
- The top mistakes that rookie and even seasoned speakers make—and how to avoid them.
- Your questions and concerns on how to develop a thriving speaking career—without going broke (or getting bummed out) in the process.
To register for one of the two virtual live trainings on March 31, click here. Upon registering for Boost Your Financial Bottom Line Through Speaking, I’ll send you my resource worksheet, 7 Ways to Create Multiple Streams of Speaking Revenue.
