Tell us about yourself; who are you and what do you do for fun?
I live in Philadelphia with my soon to be wife Lauren and cat Benny. I like to keep active and enjoy running and riding my bike. I’m a pretty simple and easy-going guy, but I also have a huge heart and burning passion to help others.
What got you into speaking? Is it what you expected?
I started this journey about 4-5 years ago when I turned 30. At the time I was about to get laid off from my full-time job because of cut backs. And ironically, my Dad passed away of cancer when he was 30. Those two experiences made me think long and hard about the type of person I want to be and how I want to live my life. I realized speaking and/or being a mentor to teens is how I want to make an impact in this world. So I started speaking at some youth groups, then schools, and it started to snowball. It’s definitely been harder than I thought it would be, but I’ve also learned a ton through the process.
Tell us about your hardest moment as a speaker so far.
Not sure I can pin point on moment, but early on there were times when it became hard or frustrating because you may not hear back from people, etc. Glad I stuck with it because follow up is key and in most cases getting booked is just a matter of time.
What has been your biggest success as a speaker so far?
Again, not sure I can pin point one success. I’ll tell you this though….I’ve become a lot better at celebrating the successes along the way and appreciating every thing that comes my way. Whether it’s booking a gig, rocking the stage, or getting a nice Instagram message from a student.
What was your biggest struggle before finding The Speaker Lab?
Before The Speaker Lab, I really struggled with not reaching out to enough people.
How has The Speaker Lab helped you and your business?
The Speaker Lab has helped me realize doing the non-sexy work is what makes this actually work. Researching schools/contacts, utilizing letters of rec and testimonials, keeping good records of where you are with leads, following up. I no longer sit and think, ‘man, why aren’t they responding to my emails.’ Now I always stay on the offense and reach out to more and more folks. It’s made a huge difference.
What is your number one goal over the next 6 months to a year?
We are in April 2017 and I’ve already hit the same number of gigs and income I made for the entire 2016 year. So for the next 6 months I want to book as many schools as I possibly can so I can continue to push myself.
