Welcome to the Marketing Business
Once you identify yourself by a category—speaker, trainer, facilitator, coach, consultant, and so forth—you become a commodity, and subject to price comparisons. I tell everyone who approaches me for advice that they need to: Understand this is the marketing business. Build their brand so that they are unique. Focus NOT on what you do (i.e.,…
Running a Successful Speaking Business Abroad
In late October of 2021, I received a text from a friend from college. She simply asked if my wife and I would like to join them in Mexico in five weeks. They owned a place in Playa Del Carmen, so all we’d need to do is get there. We jumped on the opportunity. After…
Aviate, Navigate, Communicate: How I Built a Six-Figure Speaking Brand While Keeping My Full-Time Career
If you’ve ever spent any time around aviation, you know there’s one rule pilots repeat so often it becomes muscle memory: Aviate. Navigate. Communicate. It’s the principle we fall back on when things get bumpy or when the fit hits the shan at 3 a.m. over the Atlantic Ocean. It’s what keeps us alive when…
From Certified Speaking Professional™ to Certified Silent Professional (What Happens When a Speaker Loses Her Voice Among 150 of the World’s Best Speakers)
I just spent the weekend at the CSP® Summit in Scottsdale, Arizona, surrounded by 150 Certified Speaking Professionals™, some of the best speakers in the world…. And I couldn’t speak. Not a whisper. Not a croak. Nothing. I arrived with a perfectly normal voice the night before the Summit. Woke up the first morning with…
RECODED: Use AI to Improve Your Speaking Business DNA
For a long time, the three things that made someone a successful professional speaker were talent, determination, and travel. You could make a living if you could get people to pay attention, keep booking gigs, and earn enough frequent-flyer miles. But the business of talking has changed. Your voice alone isn’t enough anymore. You need…
From Good to Unforgettable: 5 Self-Leadership Habits That Define the National Speakers Association Professional
I joined the National Speakers Association in 2018 and later served as President of NSA Colorado. In those years, I have watched our profession grow in both reach and noise. Open LinkedIn on any given day, and it seems everyone is a keynote speaker. I celebrate the enthusiasm, but I also know there is a…
Who Is Your Travel Expert?
With 3,500 paid speaking engagements over the past 48 years, I have taken about 9,000 separate flights, including connections. I’ve stayed in over 3,000 hotels and taken a huge number of taxis, limos, private and Uber rides in places where I had never been before. What are your travel numbers? Isn’t it amazing how many…
Build It Before You Need It: Capacity as Your Business Blueprint
In my last article, I wrote about the tension many speakers face as we grow — how success can sneakily outpace our systems, our energy, and even our joy. What I’ve learned since then is this: capacity isn’t about keeping up. It’s about building ahead. If your speaking business is your vehicle, capacity is the…
Stretch Without Snapping: From Solo Speaker to Scalable Business
I still remember the moment I realized I couldn’t do it all myself anymore. I was walking off stage after delivering a keynote that had taken weeks of preparation, managing all the logistics, communications, travel details, and follow-up myself. My inbox was exploding, and I had multiple training sessions booked the next day in a…