Who do you speak to and what do you speak about?
I speak to leaders who really understand the importance and the responsibility of leading well, and I speak to them about building core leadership fundamentals so that they can have those skills in their toolbox so that they can truly feel equipped to thrive in their roles and bring out the best in their teams.
What was happening or maybe not happening in your business that made you choose The Speaker Lab?
I actually just started my company, The Prepared Leader, almost exactly a year ago. It was the end of February 2024. One of the services I wanted to offer was keynote speaking at corporate events or conference or association meetings.
Where I felt that I could use guidance was that I knew there was a lot that I didn’t know, but when you’re just starting out, you don’t know what you don’t know. So I really wanted to find a resource that would be able to give me a plan to be able to execute in order to build a professional speaking business.
I’m great at following instructions and executing on a plan; creating that plan in a space that I’d never worked in before was something that I would’ve happily done and figured it out on my own, but I figured, “Hey, if there is a plan out there that has proven success, and I’ll be coached by leaders and speakers who are currently on the speaking trail, who do this for a living, who are teaching you what has worked and continues to work for them, that sounds like a program that would be really great for me to get a strong start as I began my business.”
Did you have any fears or apprehensions at the start of your journey?
I think some of the fears were, again, just not knowing what I didn’t know and hoping that it was something that I would really love to do and enjoy doing even upon learning all that it takes to build that business.
And then just from a personal standpoint, I’ve never done any kind of sales or marketing, so being the person to market myself and sell myself was an uncomfortable concept, but that’s why it was really helpful for me to have coaches like Rick, coaches like Erick to talk us through the right steps to do that – starting with your network and then easing into cold calling.
That really helped me, again, to feel more comfortable that I was executing a plan, one that had worked for others. It was something I’d never done before, but having someone walk that path along with me was really helpful.
What were some of your aha moments or major key takeaways from the SPEAK framework?
One thing in particular that comes to my mind is from one of the first group coaching calls that we had with Erick. The timing of it actually just worked out really perfectly.
What happened was we had one coaching call where the content of that call was really around how to handle contacts that come up to you after you deliver a talk.
Coincidentally, the next day I was going to be speaking at a conference, which was my first time ever speaking at a larger conference.
So being able to be on that coaching call on a Friday and then deliver my talk on a Saturday and implement exactly what he taught me when people came up to talk to me after my talk was such a cool thing for me because I wouldn’t have known what to do in that situation.
I’m sure I would’ve been friendly and gracious and thankful to them for coming up and chatting with me after, but I wouldn’t have had the specific tools to know exactly how to guide that conversation in a way that would allow me to create additional speaking opportunities from those conversations.
I’m happy to say that one of those conversations led to a talk that I’ll be giving in May.
So clearly, again, the framework works if you execute it well.
Gotta love perfect timing! That’s something I love about our program is that speakers are building their business while they’re in the program. You spoke to some of the results – congratulations on those speaking gigs – but can you speak to any other results or highlights you’ve experienced since doing the program?
Absolutely! I am happy to report that I’ve had a lot of really great momentum ever since starting the program. I was able to speak at that conference and a couple of other workshops as well.
Between now and May, I have four other engagements where I’ll be delivering talks of different lengths, with slightly different content depending on the audience – still really within the core framework of speaking to leaders.
But I never would’ve known to reach out to these opportunities. I never would’ve been looking for them had I not learned the skills that we were taught in The Speaker Lab.
From the speaking engagements you have done, how did it feel to be on that stage making that kind of impact?
You know, your question earlier where you asked about some of my potential apprehensions – one was not knowing if this really truly would be something I would like to do for a living and put my whole heart and energy into.
And after speaking in these couple of different events, it solidified for me that this is where I’m supposed to be. I kinda get chills even talking about it and thinking about it; it’s such a good feeling to know that you’re using your strengths to help others.
Doing something that you truly, wholeheartedly enjoy doing and know that you’re making a difference from a career perspective. I don’t know what’s better than that, so that’s been just such a blessing to me in my life since being part of this program and being able to have the opportunities to speak at these events.
That’s so beautiful. I can see it in your eyes, how much it means to you.
Really does.
It sounds like a lot has changed since you started the program, so we’d love to know what is your new normal these days? How has your life changed?
Yes, in many many ways. Building a business has been a really wonderful thing for me and for my family. As I mentioned earlier, from a meaning standpoint in finding that joy and fulfillment in my work.
I’ve never been at a higher point on that scale than I am now and a hundred percent knowing that this is what I should be doing with my career.
Also having the flexibility to be with my family and being able to work my schedule in a way that works best for us. I know when I was in more of a corporate job environment and needing to be in an office certain hours of a day, something that I missed the most was very small to some people, but it meant something to me was being able to brush my daughter’s hair in the morning and help them get ready for school.
I missed that almost every day.
Now I’m home every morning when they are waking up. I help them get dressed, I’m able to brush their hair, give them ponytails, and those are memories that mean a lot to me and moments that I cherish.
I know I’ll look back on those in years to come when they’re not in the house and be grateful that I had the time to do that because I know that I am blessed and privileged to be able to do that because of being able to build this business.
I know that not everyone has that luxury so it’s something that I’m grateful for every single day.
You’re gonna make me emotional over here. As a daughter myself, I know how any time like that with Mom is so crucial, memorable, and important. Your kids are very lucky.
Thank you.
I’m glad you’re doing what it takes to be able to be more present with them.
It’s been wonderful. Another big blessing has even been them being able to see their mom work on something that is important to her. My husband and I have kept them as part of this whole journey, telling them that we’re building The Prepared Leader and “Mommy’s gonna go speak to people,” and they understand that this is a family event, a family adventure that we’re all embarking on together.
It’s been really cool to see them talk about “Mommy’s building The Prepared Leader and we’re leaders too!” It’s just been so, so cool, especially with them being so young. They’re only seven and eight years old, so I love the fact that they’re seeing their mom pursue something that matters to her and being able to see this journey over the next few years.
Yeah, that’s huge. Do they get to ever go see you speak?
They haven’t yet, but I’m really looking forward to when that is. They might be a little bored. But I would probably throw their names in here and there so they would feel kind of special about that.
A little shout out from mom. That’s awesome. I bet they would just be so wowed watching you up there.
Absolutely.
I love the family piece. That’s really special to hear, so thanks for sharing that. Well that brings us to our last question and that is: who would you recommend to The Speaker Lab and why?
I think there are a lot of great organizations out there that help people build their communication skills, be able to present well and practice the art of speaking in front of audiences.
Where I think The Speaker lab is different and a great resource would be for people who want to build a speaking business because The Speaker Lab teaches you all of those concepts that I mentioned earlier, but in addition to that, gives you the very practical steps to find the right people to contact, how to send out those emails, how to make those phone calls, what to say in a gig to have that one gig turn into two and exponentially grow from that, how to price your product – All of the things that you need to build a business as a speaker and make a living doing that.
That is, I think, the key piece that differentiates the modules in the training within The Speaker Lab for people who truly understand that this is what I want to do, and need to know what’s the best plan and toolkit for me to use to go execute and make that happen.
I love hearing you say that because something we really want to impart our students with is something sustainable that they can keep growing. That’s why we take this collaborative approach. We want to teach you how to find leads, and also give you leads. We want to empower you to know how to do things in this business for yourself, beyond just the leads we give you, for example.
Absolutely. And one thing for me that was very, very powerful as well, my coach was Erick Rheam and just hearing him talk about how he’s constantly on the road – it’s gig after gig after gig, and him being able to implement exactly what he was teaching us in order to make that happen, that was really great for me to see because I could see – okay, that’s my end goal, that’s what I’m working towards and this is exactly what he did.
So I’ll just replicate it and you know, God willing, the results would be the same or similar.
It was really nice to see an example of the framework working in real life.
I love that too; it’s not just these theoretical things or something that someone did 10 years ago. You get to learn from a coach and go, “He’s literally at a hotel right now for a gig leading this workshop.” It’s very real, and that representation is amazing.
Absolutely.
Well, I wanted to know if there’s anything else on your heart or mind to share as we wrap up our conversation?
Really, I would just encourage any students that do decide to enroll in the program to take full advantage of it. Read every module, do every activity, try to prioritize every coaching call, and if you can be there live as opposed to watching the recording, I highly recommend that.
We’re making that decision to invest in ourselves. So really, take that decision and use it to its full advantage in order to truly reap the benefits from the program.
I think like most things in life, what you put in is what you get out, and this is a hundred percent the case with the program through The Speaker Lab.
I would 100% echo that! We have so much to offer and there’s so much goodness here, and we love when people just hit the ground running, get everything on their calendar, get a notebook for the learnings, and more. Really give it your all and then you’ll see all the results.
Absolutely. The tools are there, they just need to be used.
Couldn’t have said it better. Thanks Tania.