Why TSL?
I had been listening to the TSL podcast, learning a lot and it all made so much sense. In one episode I heard a Student Success story and that was the motivation I needed to jump all in. I have experience speaking, paid and unpaid and was a university professor for seven years so I am comfortable on stage and speaking in front of people. I have a lot of the pieces in place to create a business but I wasn’t sure where to put my time and energy (I was trying a lot of different things with little impact).
Someone compared working with TSL to turning on a light in a room so you can actually see the furniture and rearrange it properly.
For whatever reason that spoke to me and I was like, okay, yeah, because I do have so many pieces in place, but I don’t know how to put them out into a package. And so that’s why I decided to make the investment with TSL.
I speak about mindfulness and grief, specifically the grief we experience with the aging body.
What has the VIP Accelerator done for your speaking business?
First of all, the coaches have been great. I received an unexpected opportunity to speak in an industry I was not 100% familiar with. I wanted to secure the gig as this would be my first paid gig in Minnesota. I picked up Voxer and reached out to my coach Rick Clemons and he was so responsive. I asked all the questions on how to navigate this discovery call. Rick was reassuring and gave me confidence by supplying me with the right questions to ask and what to focus on. Rick also guided me to some important videos about contracts and how to negotiate pricing. I had only gotten through modules one and two (I was VERY new to the program!), but because of the support of Rick, I was able to accelerate my results and book my first paid gig in Minnesota. When I had the discovery call I felt calm with clarity and confidence. Two days later the contract was signed. Keep in mind, this was all before we even had our first session as a cohort! Having real-time support was very affirming that I made the right decision choosing to invest in The Speaker Lab.
Module one has really helped me hone in on what I want to talk about. It made me think about what fires me up and what I am most passionate about. I am now confident I want to talk about empowering people to face aging with more curiosity, ease & joy.
The talk creation template in module two has been a very eye-opening exercise. It helped me ask important questions about the impact I want to make. It is basically creating a journey for yourself so that the experience for your audience is top-notch.
What results have you experienced?
Reaching out to people and letting them know I am now a speaker. People don’t know what you are up to if you don’t tell them. I created an Excel spreadsheet and started organizing my contacts so that I could keep track of who I wanted to reach out to to let them know I am a professional speaker and I speak on empowering people to face their aging in a more positive way.
In fact, I have a call next week with a person at the University of Minnesota. I don’t know where it will lead but I do know that the fact that I let them know I am out here doing this work sparked their interest and now we are having a conversation. This would not have happened if I didn’t let them know I existed.
I also feel a new level of confidence as I work through the modules. As I distill down my expertise, refine my talk, create my abstract, and so forth… all of these things create a positive compounding effect of more and more confidence.
This confidence motivates me to pick up the phone and put myself out there. As I make connections I gain more and more clarity on my topic and audience. I hear myself speaking about my talks and I am clear about what I love talking about and why which is a great feeling.
I have also switched my mindset from “how do I make money?” to focus on “how do I provide a service that makes a positive impact?” while building a sustainable business.
Who would you recommend to The Speaker Lab?
I’ve met so many people from all different walks of life since I’ve started TSL but I’d have to say someone who wants to build a business and is willing and able to put in the work. This program is rigorous. There’s a commitment to the process that people need to have.
So, if you are ready to invest the time, and put in the work (this is not a passive program), and want to leave a legacy… I would invest your time and money into The Speaker Lab.