Student Success Stories: Stefanie Couch

Here at The Speaker Lab, our goal is to help you get Booked and Paid to Speak. Our Student Success Stories share first hand experiences from our students of how they’ve booked paid speaking gigs and grown their businesses by applying the concepts they learned in our courses.

WHY TSL?

I’m a big believer in partnering with the right coaching who have the tactical tools to really supercharge your growth in whatever area that is. I left my corporate job last year and right before I did that, I signed up for The Speaker Lab because I knew that being a public speaker for at least part of my income was going to be a goal of mine in addition to my coaching and consulting business.

I wanted to really launch that on the right foot instead of trying to do it myself. It was important to me to partner with someone who had experience and could show me a strategy and a system that would help me grow faster.

I was in the construction business for 20 some odd years where women represent a very low number, less than 10%. In management roles, it’s even a lower percentage.

So, I mostly speak about how to grow and thrive in male-dominated environments, and that can be an audience of women or men, and then how companies can help women be recruited and developed and also retained in their companies. In addition to this, I have been getting asked to speak more and more around personal branding which has been an exciting change for me.

HOW DID THE VIP PROGRAM AND OUR SPEAK FRAMEWORK HELP YOU AND YOUR SPEAKING BUSINESS?

I had the business acumen, I had the talk, I had the CRM experience on the business side but what was missing was the speaking business assets. Things like my abstract, the how tos of writing a talk, how to go after the right people to find the perfect gigs, and how to scale.

The ability to watch Erick and see where he started and how far he has come, it really helped me understand that the system works, you simply have to work it.

How to price your talk was very helpful. We all want to make $20,000 per talk, that’s the goal right? But understanding where to start and how to increase your rates I found very beneficial. Plus, when to do free gigs for the good of your business.

I think many of us think free gigs mean a negative, but in reality there is a time and place in our speaking businesses where this can be very beneficial to our overall growth. Also, how to take a talk and spin workshops off of a keynote. There are so many tips and tricks you learn with The Speaker Lab on how to get one gig and turn it into more gigs. I found it very beneficial.

WHAT ARE SOME RESULTS YOU ARE EXPERIENCING?

I’ve booked an event in September that I’m speaking at.

I’ve done three events since then.

I have a long-term contract speaking engagement that I’m working out right now. It’s not done, but it’s a speaking engagement with a executive education program. There are several different things that I’m working out right now, and some of them have already landed, so it’s becoming more common, which is exciting.

I am also doing a lot of different podcasts that are leading to other engagements. So all tandem, you do one thing and it’s a domino effect remembering all the while that a lot of it does take time. I think that’s one thing that I would tell people is, you do have success and obviously you’ll always want more bookings.

But, at the end of the day, when you get 2, 3, 4, 5, after your first, then you start rolling. The next year you’ll get more because a lot of these events are booked seven to nine months out. So I’m working on things for 2024 right now that I’m really excited about.

WHO WOULD YOU RECOMMEND TO THE SPEAKER LAB?

I think anyone who is trying to build a business, whether it’s part-time or full-time, a side hustle business is still a very viable thing, especially in today’s economy. Whether you are an entrepreneur, a teacher, military – active or a veteran, retired…anyone looking for to create a second career that feels they have a message, TSL is the place to start.

I believe everyone should use their voice. I strongly believe that. That’s one of the things I do a speech on is, is the power of using your voice – figuratively and literally. I am an opera singer and so I have experience getting out on stage and using my voice. But this can be really hard for people. I truly believe all of us have a story to share and one that is important enough to share.

So whatever your story is, if you feel inclined to share it, I think this would be a great platform. It will help you rocket charge your results and enable you to actually go out quickly without burn out because you learned a proven system while getting fully supported by the TSL coaches and community.

Connect With Stefanie Couch

Want to know exactly what to say to finally land paid speaking gigs?

We’ll send you the exact three emails you can send to conference planners and event organizers that lead to Grant Baldwin (our founder) booking over $2M in speaking gigs. 

Practical Advice and Strategies for Building Your Speaking Business

Training, case studies, and our best tips and tricks to help you find and book more paid speaking gigs than ever before.

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