WHY TSL?
The holistic approach to building a speaking business is what did it for me. There are many different options out there in terms of courses and programs. I didn’t really know which one was best for me. I jumped on a discovery call with TSL, did my research on The Speaker Lab, and when I knew they could help me with the business side of speaking, I was all in.
I also appreciated that their coaches are speakers as well. They get what we are trying to do, and I thought that would be beneficial, and it most certainly was.
Today, I speak to educators, students, and professionals to cultivate the conditions for success in both the educational and corporate sectors. I speak about academic success and character development. I speak about the importance of their peer groups.
I educate them regarding the influence you have as well as that which others have on you. Ultimately, my goal is to help the individual develop personally so they can accomplish their goals and be successful.
HOW DID THE SPEAK FRAMEWORK MAKE AN IMPACT ON YOU?
The framework didn’t solely focus on the art of speaking. It touched on all the things we need to be successful as speakers, such as a website (i.e. How should that website be developed? What are the key components to make it a marketable website?)
I knew I needed to position myself as an expert in my field – but what does that look like? How do I develop that? Your talk needs to be developed, so obviously you’re going to need a system for that as well.
Narrowing your audience is another focus of TSL. I felt like, okay, why would I wanna narrow my target audience to just one particular group of people? I think the natural mind thinks, I want to try and talk to as many people as possible in as many different spaces and lanes as possible.
So, I think, initially, just helping me to narrow it down to my target audience and then having an expert positioning statement to actually explain to people what I do.
We don’t know what we don’t know, and TSL definitely exposes those must haves in your speaking business that may have been overlooked otherwise. The holistic approach TSL takes not only answers so many questions about running a speaking business, but they guide you through the process.
With that said, I cannot speak about the modules and their impact without speaking about the impact of my coach Katherine Johnson.
Katherine Johnson… even though I paid for the program, and it was her responsibility and her duty to help me, the way that she went about it…..I will never forget her help and her being instrumental in me getting started. I will never talk about my career as a speaker without mentioning Katherine Johnson. I mean that from the bottom of my heart.
The way that she made me feel, the way that she helped me work through things. She took time, thought through it, reworked it with me. She’s phenomenal!
WHAT HAVE BEEN SOME RESULTS YOU ARE EXPERIENCING?
I literally, like five minutes ago, just jumped off a virtual keynote with Zimmer Biomet, who is one of the top leaders in the medical industry, along with Stryker and Johnson and Johnson.
I started working with The Speaker Lab at the end of 2022 – I really jumped into the program right after the New Year and I started speaking full-time in February of this year (February, 2023). It is now July of 2023, and if I stay on the same trajectory, I’ll make six figures by November.
I think for me, what has helped me is I’ve never pursued money. I pursued purpose.
Obviously I want to be paid because I do believe, when people pay, they pay attention. I also believe that when you bring value to an organization or to a school, you should be compensated for the value that you bring.
For me, this work is purpose-driven. I feel it’s part of my calling. I’m passionate about what I do, and I really want to impact the lives of people. That means a whole lot to me. I think people really believe in my message and believe in me, and I think that has really helped me to scale my business to take off the way that it has over the last six months.
I could have never dreamed of this. I could have never imagined it in a million years. I mean, I’ve made more in six months than some people do in a whole year. But it’s because of purpose. I always tell people, chase, purpose. Don’t chase money. When you bring value, and you’re able to solve a problem, people will compensate you for that if they feel you’re being authentic and genuine.
WHO WOULD YOU RECOMMEND TO THE SPEAKER LAB?
Anyone who’s serious about becoming a professional speaker. If you are serious, number one, you have to invest in yourself. I believe one of the biggest investments you can make in life is in yourself, and as a speaker, you want to be competent, right? Competence goes beyond what you’re speaking about. Sure you have to be able to communicate your message and be a skilled speaker. You also need to know your subject matter, and you need to know how to run the business.
The Speaker Lab will give you that competence. Between the content and all the resources – emails, contracts, proposals, talk templates, website, demo and so much more… you are set up to win. But, you have to do the work. You can’t speed through the course, and you must lean into the coaching. So, I wouldn’t say it’s easy, but if you are serious, I can guarantee you will have a return on your investment.