“It’s never gonna be right. It’s gonna be good enough to get started. You have enough to get started — just get started.”
Welcome back to The Speaker Lab Podcast! In this Alumni Spotlight episode, host Dan Irvin sits down with Chris Jackson — a speaker and consultant building his business from the foundation up, getting ready to land his first paid gig in this chapter of his career. And the message he’s building on is one every listener needs to feel, not just nod along to: momentum, breaking the inertia of the start, and getting comfortable with an ugly start.
Chris’s favorite analogy says it all — spaceships burn most of their fuel breaking gravity, not cruising through space. He and Dan unpack how perfectionism keeps speakers grounded, how the Speaker Bureau intake (plus some smart AI brainstorming) finally gave Chris clarity on his niche — helping high-performing dentists shift from clinician to CEO — and the proposal he sat on for weeks despite knowing every single decision maker by name. He just wouldn’t pick up the phone. If you’ve ever been the dog sitting on the nail, this one’s for you.
Then there’s the story that gave both of them goosebumps: 19-year-old Chris bombing his first tour at Atlanta’s Cyclorama, until an older gentleman shook his hand, told him to slow down, and gave him a five-dollar tip — his first paid speaking gig and the feedback that launched a lifelong study of the craft. It pairs with the harder lesson that came later: someone told Chris he sounded “too motivational,” and he let it shrink him until speaking wasn’t fun anymore. The takeaway? Take the feedback that serves your mission, and let the rest go.
Whether you’re frozen at the starting line or sanding down your voice to fit someone else’s idea of you, this episode will get you off the nail and into motion!
You’ll learn:
- Why breaking gravity takes most of your fuel — and what that means for starting your speaking business
- How perfectionism disguises itself as preparation (and keeps your talk grounded)
- How the Speaker Bureau intake questions gave Chris real clarity on his clinician-to-CEO topic
- Using AI as a brainstorming partner, not a do-it-all machine — and why mastering one tool beats drinking from the tech fire hose
- What private equity did to dental service organizations, and the pain point Chris solves for dentists
- The “too motivational” feedback that almost cost Chris his voice — and what it taught him
- How to tell the difference between feedback worth taking and feedback worth letting go
- The Cyclorama story: a stranger’s $5 tip that became a first paid gig and a turning point
- Why Chris knew every decision maker for his first proposal — and still wouldn’t make the call
- Why momentum is a decision, not a feeling
And much, much more!
“Do the thing that you fear the most. Make the phone call, send the proposal, show up. When you show up for yourself, that’s when the magic happens.”
Sitting on your own nail right now? Stop waiting for perfect and take the first step. Grab a free 15-minute Speaker Business Assessment at thespeakerlab.com/SBA — a real look at where you are and what to do next.
